


Among the Forgotten

by LizzeXX



Series: The Heart of Time Saga [6]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Amnesia, Amy Flirting, Amy is a flirt, Angel is hurting, Awkward Romance, Broken Hearts, Broken Promises, Canon Divergence, Canon Rewrite, Death of the Doctor SJA, Drama, Embedded Images, Emotional Manipulation, Gallifrey, Hurt, Hurt With Minimal Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Manipulation, Manipulative Relationship, Mind Manipulation, Miracle Day, Or Just Hurt, Original Character(s), Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Pain, Partial telepathy, Past Relationship(s), Psychic Abilities, River Flirting, River is...well River, Rory is his awesome self, Stalled Relationship, Temporary Pregnancy Loss, The Doctor is not Alone, The Doctor is oblivious, The Heart of Time Saga, The Last Great Time War, The Sarah Jane Adventures crossover, The baby is safe in the end though, Time Lord Mating Process, Time Travel, Time Vortex, Torchwood - Freeform, Torchwood Crossover, Unplanned Pregnancy, Vortex Powers, doctor who - Freeform, friendships, lots of pain, series 5 rewrite, space travel, time lady - Freeform, visionary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:28:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 52
Words: 366,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29147454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizzeXX/pseuds/LizzeXX
Summary: When the Doctor's regenerates, his Mate, Angel, is in for the most heartbreaking time of her lives. Cracks in time, Amy Pond, River Song, and many more trials will be thrown at her. How will everything affect her? Will she survive losing her companion Rory? What will she do when the Pandorica opens? And what happened to the Doctor?11/OCTime Lady
Relationships: Eleventh Doctor/Original Female Character(s), The Doctor (Doctor Who) & Original Female Character(s), The Doctor/The Angel, Thella - Relationship, Theta/Nella
Series: The Heart of Time Saga [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2086098
Kudos: 5





	1. The Eleventh Hour: Amelia Pond

**Author's Note:**

> I have been plagiarized many times since I began writing fanfiction :( So please, do not copy my work onto other sites. And if you see my work, whether in full or tweaked or mish-mashed into other people's works, reach out to me on tumblr (LizzeXX) and let me know so I can look into it, post evidence on my tumblr's 'Plagiarizers' page, and ask for help reporting when it happens :(
> 
> I have seen it all by now. From people flat out copying everything and just pasting it as is, to changing the OC's name or from 3rd to 1st person, to alternating parts of their own work with putting in parts of mine, to starting off originally and then transitioning to my work, to using Proffy for 1 story then switching to Evy in their next, to people literally taking chunks from 5 different series and piecing it together into a story, so please, PLEASE, let me know if you see it happening. I am nervous enough posting this on AO3 or any other site, it is reassuring to me if people can keep an eye out and just let me know if you see anything happening :(

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Welcome to the sixth story in my third(!) OC series, the Heart of Time Saga, Among the Forgotten. I would recommend that new readers check out the first five stories of the saga (A Treasured Discovery, Meeting of the Minds, Hearts to Hearts, Fading, and Mated Souls) to really understand who my OC is, her unique abilities, and where she is in her relationship with the Doctor, trust me they NEED to be read, especially for this series. This will be a Doctor/OC series, the pairing name officially called Thella, featuring my OC The Angel, AKA the Time Lady Nella, a woman with quite a few gifts she's only starting to understand.
> 
> Quick physical description: Angel, now on her 11th body, is an average-height woman (but just a bit shorter than the 10th Doctor) with long, black hair that she tends to wear half-up, half-down, and sharp grey eyes with speckles of gold in them, which the Doctor has come to realize is a part of the Vortex inside her peeking out. She also seems to have similar ears to Captain Jack :) She tends to wear a blue (-cough- TARDIS blue -cough-) short sleeved, tunic-style dress, with a ruffle-trim near the round neckline which makes it seem flowy, with a thick black belt and black cowboy boots. However she loves dressing up in period style clothing for those sorts of trips :) I picture her to look something like Rachel Weisz.
> 
> Every chapter (except 'mini-sode' chapters) will be at the very least 4,000 words. I have been making it to about 5,000 so far but there may be a few that fall to 4,000 depending on how much I liked that episode (just so you have fair warning). Every episode will be broken up into three chapters that has a special title to it. The holiday specials however will be posted in 5 chapters since they are quite a bit longer. This story will also have the SJA episode 'Death of the Doctor' (in 2 chapters) and a Torchwood Crossover with Miracle Day. It will also have the 'Meanwhile in the TARDIS' mini-sodes and the 'Death is the Only Answer,' (each as a separate single chapter). This story will be 52 chapters long :)
> 
> ~8~ is a scene break
> 
> 'italics' is telepathic communication between the Doctor and Angel
> 
> '...words...' or ...action... is Angel hearing/seeing the future
> 
> ~oOo~ well...we'll find out by the end of Eleventh Hour }:)
> 
> Disclaimer 1: I do not own Doctor Who...or I wouldn't be stuck in terrible Accounting jobs...
> 
> Disclaimer 2: My OC is not to be associated with any DW stories that also have a Time Lady named The Angel.
> 
> Enjoy!

The TARDIS flew wildly over London, the central console sparking, the room in flames, as Angel did her best to pilot the old box by herself. The Doctor was currently hanging out of the TARDIS doors by his hands, his sonic in his mouth. This new him was even worse a pilot than the last him was it seemed...either that or the TARDIS was FAR more cross about his turbulent regeneration than they originally thought...

Now that she thought about it, it almost seemed like the box was _trying_ to throw him out. She'd kept jerking in the direction of the doors, making the Doctor stumble numerous times. The last jerk had been enough to send him over the edge but the box wasn't even trying to help get him back in. She didn't understand it, the box loved the Doctor as much as she did, she knew it, so why was the old girl so cross? It couldn't be just the regeneration, he'd had loads of them before, his 9th self's, while not quite so bad, had been as extreme. And the box would fix herself right up, repair herself as TARDISes could do in extreme circumstances, when filled with the regeneration energy of her pilots. It was like...a sponge or a battery, the box absorbed the regenerative energy and used it to rebuild.

So...if everything was going to be fine, why did the TARDIS seem so determined to kill the Doctor?

"It'll be ok girl," she patted the rotor, hoping that she would be able to calm the box down enough to let him back in, "I promise, cross my hearts," she crossed them, "I'll fix you right up after you've rebuilt, anything left broken I'll get right on, it'll be ok."

The box calmed just a bit, leveled out some so the Doctor wasn't literally dangling from her any longer, but...she sounded almost...pained, as she hummed. Not a pain of rebuilding or having been damaged but...like she was trying to give a warning.

Angel shook her head, she didn't have time to try and interpret it at the moment, and so she glanced over to see the Doctor's head pop up as he tried to crawl back in, "I told you to hang on!" she shouted over to him as she ran around the console, glancing over at the Doctor as he tried to pull himself back into the TARDIS. He turned his head at the sound of a bell chiming and saw he was about to hit Big Ben. Angel pulled a lever and pulled the TARDIS up just in time though.

"Thanks!" he called, pulling himself completely inside and closing the doors, falling against them with a sigh. The ship lurched and spun out of control, nearly sending him to the ground on his face this time.

"A little help!" Angel yelled and he ran over to the console.

~8~

A little ginger girl knelt by her bed at night, saying her prayers before she went to sleep, "Dear Santa, thank you for the dolls and pencils and the fish. It's Easter now, so I hope I didn't wake you. But honest, it is an emergency. There's a crack in my wall..." she turned to glance at the crack before turning back sharply, unnerved by it, "Aunt Sharon says it's just an ordinary crack, but...I know it's not, because, at night, there's voices. So please, _please_ , could you send someone to fix it? Or a policeman. Or..."

The rest of her prayers and pleas were cut off by a crash outside and the sound of glass breaking.

The girl looked back at her window, "Back in a moment," and ran to it, grabbing a small torch, looking outside to see the TARDIS on its back, having knocked down part of the shed, smoke rising from it. She looked up at the sky and smiled, "Thank you, Santa."

And then she turned, running out of the house, grabbing a red jacket and matching wellies on the way. She made her way to the back of the house with her torch, to where the big box had landed. Suddenly the doors were thrown open and a rope with a grappling hook flew out, catching on a lawn mower. A moment later a hand and then another came over the edge, and the Doctor popped up.

"Can I have an apple?" he asked her, "All I can think about, apples. I love apples. Maybe I'm having a craving. That's new, never had cravings before."

"Doctor!" a woman's voice called from inside, "Could you move please?"

The Doctor quickly moved to straddle the TARDIS, making room for Angel to make her way out and up to the side of the TARDIS as well. He looked back inside and gaped, "Whoa! Look at that!"

"Are you ok?" the little girl eyed them. The man was a bit weird, with his soaked, brown, floppy looking hair and green eyes. He had a blue shirt on with a brown tie and brown pants, white shoes, the whole outfit just...didn't seem to fit him. The girl, though, was dry, with black hair and a blue dress the same shade as the box they were both sitting on. She could make out cowboy boots on the woman's feet as she swung one leg over the side.

The Doctor swung both legs over and sat on the edge, shrugging as though their sudden appearance and the state of them, all wet and smudged, was perfectly normal, "Just had a fall. All the way down there, right to the library. Hell of a climb back up."

"Are you ok though Doctor?" Angel eyed him, worried, she remembered his last regeneration, how he'd been fine at first, but then fallen into a healing coma, she didn't want that to happen again, she'd felt so helpless, though this time there would likely be no one there to blame her, she still didn't want to see him in such a state.

"Right as rain," he nodded.

Angel just gave him one more look, rubbing her elbow absently. She'd managed to grab onto the console before the TARDIS had crashed, but she'd banged her elbow soundly on a lever in the process. It was rather stiff.

"You're soaking wet," the girl pointed out.

"I told him not to pull the lever," Angel told her, "And he did," she started to stroke the side of the box, "You didn't like that did you girl?" and then back at the girl, "He fell into the swimming pool."

"But he said he was in the library."

"So was the swimming pool," the Doctor nodded.

"Are you policemen?"

"Why? Did you call a policeman?"

"Did you come about the crack in my wall?"

"What cra..." he fell to the ground with a twitch of pain, "Argh!"

"Doctor!" Angel quickly jumped off the box to kneel beside him, checking on him, feeling her hearts restart again at seeing it was just a regeneration pain. She could feel it, this regeneration wouldn't be like the last, he wouldn't need a healing coma, but that didn't mean she didn't worry about him still. She'd always worry about him, seemed she'd have to now, this new him didn't really seem to worry about himself or much either.

"Is he alright?" the girl asked.

The Doctor pushed himself to a kneel, "Yes, I'm fine, it's ok. This is all perfectly norm..." he opened his mouth and orange burst of energy came out.

Angel sighed, "Let's hope there's no Pilot Fish this time," she remarked, looking around as though expecting the robots to show up out of the blue. At least the last Christmas hadn't had any killer robots...just killer Time Lords. But still, everything was ok now, they were both alive and safe and healthy and that was all she wanted, the Doctor to be ok.

"Who are you?" the girl frowned, looking between them.

"I don't know yet," the Doctor replied, looking at his hands, "I'm still cooking. Does it scare you?"

"No, it just looks a bit weird."

"No, no, no. The crack in your wall. Does it scare you?"

"Yes."

The Doctor jumped up, startling Angel at the sudden move, oddly enough having not expected it despite his new energetic countenance, oh this new him would take some getting used to wouldn't it?

The Doctor just grinned, "Well, then, no time to lose. I'm the Doctor. This is Angel. Do everything we tell you, don't ask stupid questions and don't wander off," he turned and strode away...

"Tree," Angel called, shaking her head, unable to help feeling like...something was off, like something was wrong...

...and then the Doctor walked into said tree, knocking himself back to the ground.

"You alright?" the girl called.

"Early days," he sighed from his place on the ground, "Steering's a bit off," a hand was suddenly in front of his face and he took it, Angel helping him off the ground, the Doctor moving to brush some dirt and leaves off his clothes, wringing out the soaked tie, before they followed the girl into her house.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel stood in the little girl's kitchen as she went to get the Doctor his requested apple. It was a very cozy room, very homey, "If you're a doctor, why does your box say 'Police?'" the girl asked, handing him the apple.

He took a big bite of it, chewing it a moment before spitting it out and coughing, "That's disgusting. What _is_ that?"

"An apple."

"Apples are rubbish. I hate apples."

"You told her you loved them," Angel reminded him.

"No, no," he shook his head, pointing at her, "I love yogurt. Yogurt's my favorite," and turned to the girl, "Give me yogurt."

The girl moved to the refrigerator and got him a yogurt.

He tore the lid off and poured it into his mouth before spitting it to the side, "I hate yoghurt, it's just stuff with bits in."

"You said it was your favorite!" the little girl told him.

"New mouth, new rules," he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, "It's like eating after cleaning your teeth, everything tastes wro...agh!" he had a small fit and smacked himself in the forehead.

"What is it? What's wrong with you?"

"Wrong with _me_? It's not my fault. Why can't you give me decent food? You're Scottish, fry something."

The girl eyed him oddly a moment before turning to the stove and turning it on.

"Still rude then?" Angel asked, looking at him intently, she really couldn't shake the feeling that something was really terribly wrong...but what?

"Suppose so," he shrugged, turning to open and close the cupboards around him, just being nosy.

Angel tensed a little as she watched him. It was...different. Him. When he'd regenerated the first time, it had been like a new start, he'd been so different, but a good different, and this was a good different too. This new him seemed...happier, lighter, like...he was finally starting to let go of all the guilt from the War. She hoped, a very small hope, that she might have had something to do with that. But...still...there was something about the new Doctor...

She blinked, was THIS how he'd felt when _she'd_ regenerated? The Doctors before him, her Doctors, she hadn't been Mated to one and only started the Mating with the other, but they hadn't regenerated while she was Mated to them till just now. Was this how he'd felt when she had regenerated during the Mating? It was true, the Mating made things that much more powerful, emotions wise, made the loss of one incarnation feel that much more profound. But...

The 10th Doctor had never seemed to mind, not for long. She knew he had been worried for the first few moments of her regenerations, about the Mating bonds and about her. But he always seemed pleased with the new new hers, like...each time he just found new things to love about her. She had to admit, she DID see a bit of hesitation right at the beginning, that moment when you didn't really know what sort of person the new new Mate was, she supposed it would just take time.

She smiled, being a Time Lord, they had all the time in the Universe to get to know this new new new him. And she couldn't wait because...she bit her lip a bit, she rather liked the new new new him from what she'd seen the last few minutes. He was just as handsome to her as the last hims had been, much more energetic, playful, happy...that was what she wanted, him to be happy.

As long as he was happy, she would be too.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel stood there, drying themselves off with a few towels as the girl cooked up the bacon.

"Ah! Bacon!" the Doctor smiled, taking a bite of it from the plate the girl had given him, the girl laughing as Angel shook her head at him, just _knowing_ what was coming next. He made a face and spit the food out, "Bacon. _That's_ bacon?" he looked at the girl, suspicious, "Are you trying to poison me?"

"I wouldn't have let you touch the food if she was Doctor," Angel smiled at him.

~8~

The girl turned the stove on again and cooked up some beans.

"Ah, you see, beans," the Doctor smiled, moving to the table and taking a forkful of beans when the girl handed him the bowl...

Which he then spit out in the sink as the girl made a face.

"Beans are evil. Bad, _bad_ beans."

Angel shook her head and looked at the girl, "I'm sorry about him."

~8~

The girl sighed, spreading butter over a slice of bread.

"Bread and butter," the Doctor nodded, "Now you're talking."

Angel just headed out of the room, towards the front door...

~8~

...and held it open as the Doctor threw the plate of bread and butter out. There was a crash and a poor cat screeched, making Angel wince.

"And stay out!" he called, shutting the door behind him.

~8~

The girl looked in the refrigerator as the Doctor paced, "We've got some carrots…"

"Carrots?" the Doctor eyed her, "Are you insane?"

Angel sighed and walked over, "Well, while you debate what to eat…" she reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a container of custard and then a package of fish fingers from the freezer. She looked at them and smiled, "Fish fingers and custard."

"Ew," the girl grimaced as the Doctor eyed her as though _she_ were insane now too.

"What?" Angel shook her head, "Hearing you talk about food has given _me_ a craving," she paused a moment with a frown, she'd never really had a craving before, and SHE wasn't even the one regenerating, but she shook her head and went to get the food ready, she hadn't really eaten much and with all the running around, the food sounded good.

She blamed the Doctor for her craving though, he was always influencing her.

~8~

Angel sat at the table, dipping a fish finger into a bowl of custard and taking a bite. The Doctor eyed her closely before reaching forward and experimentally trying the same. A smile bloomed across his face as he dipped the fish finger in again and woofed it down, going in for more. The girl laughed, eating ice cream across from them. After a few moments, when the fish fingers were all gone, the Doctor lifted the bowl and drank some of the custard.

"Funny," the girl remarked, eyeing him.

"Am I?" he swallowed, wiping a custard mustache away, "Good. Funny's good."

"I prefer silly," Angel smiled, the Doctor had proved numerous times there was nothing wrong with silly.

"What's your name?" the Doctor looked at the girl.

"Amelia Pond," the girl answered.

"Well it's very nice to meet you Amelia," Angel reached over to shake the girl's hand.

"Amelia Pond, that's a brilliant name, like a name in a fairy tale," the Doctor nodded, "Are we in Scotland, Amelia?"

"No," she sighed, "We had to move to England. It's rubbish."

"Your mum and dad..." Angel began with a frown, getting a pang as she thought on them and the girl.

"Yes, where are they?" the Doctor cut in, looking around, "Are they upstairs?"

"Doctor," Angel shook her head.

"Thought we'd have woken them by now."

"I don't have a mum and dad," the girl said, "Just an aunt."

"I don't even have an aunt," the Doctor remarked.

"You're lucky."

"I know. So, your aunt. Where is she?"

"She's out."

"She left you here alone?" Angel shook her head, unable to comprehend that, the girl was only 7!

"I'm not scared."

"'Course you're not," the Doctor nodded, "You're not scared of anything! Box falls out of the sky, man and woman fall out of box, man and woman eat fish custard, and look at you, just sitting there. So you know what I think?"

"What?"

"Must be a hell of a scary crack in your wall."

~8~

They stood in the doorway of Amelia's bedroom, looking at the crack. It looked like it was just an ordinary crack, hardly worth investigating. The Doctor was even going to turn and ask Amelia if, perhaps, her aunt had any sort of plaster around so he could mend the crack...but then Angel spoke.

"I don't like it," Angel shook her head, crossing her arms and staying in the doorway, looking at the crack with a frown on her face that was a cross between unease and disgust. She shifted a bit, even just...looking at it made her feel like it was wrong, made her feel like she shouldn't get close to it...made her feel a bit sick too. Her stomach was churning at the sight of it and she swallowed, trying to keep the fish fingers and custard down.

"Why?" the Doctor looked over at her.

"I don't know," she shook her head, "It just…makes me feel a bit sick is all."

The Doctor nodded and stepped into the room, keeping that in mind as he went to examine the crack, "You've had some cowboys in here. Not actual cowboys, though that can happen."

"I used to hate apples," Amelia remarked as she stood in the doorway by Angel, sharing the woman's sentiments about not getting too close to the crack, "So my mum put faces on them," she glanced at the Doctor before walking in and handed him an apple with a smiling face cut into it.

"She sounds good, your mum," he tossed the apple in the air and caught it.

"You might want to keep that for later," Angel called, stepping hesitantly into the room, though her gaze was locked on the crack. She _really_ didn't like it, but the Doctor and Amelia were in the room and, if anything happened, she wanted to be closer enough to help.

The Doctor though, didn't seem to notice her hesitation or agitation as he just dropped the apple into his pocket and turned back to the crack, "This wall is solid and the crack doesn't go all the way through it. So here's a thing, where's the draft coming from?" he flashed the sonic across it and checked the results, "Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey. You know what the crack is?"

"What?" Amelia shook her head.

"Don't touch it," Angel called, seeing him move to do just that, everything in her was telling him to get him away from that crack.

"I'll be fine," he whispered, focused on the crack as he ran his fingers along it, "It's a crack," he added to Amelia, "I'll tell you something funny. If you knocked this wall down, the crack would stay put, 'cos the crack isn't in the wall."

"Where is it, then?" Amelia frowned.

"Everywhere," Angel answered, blinking at the crack, "It's everywhere and in everything," she glanced at the Doctor, "I used to see something like it with the TARDISes when their pilots would try to break into alternate realities, it's the result of the skin of the world ripping and trying to mend in the wrong way, two pieces of space and time that aren't meant to be together are being forced together."

She swallowed hard...

'... _Prisoner Zero has escaped_...'

... _the sun seemed grayish, flickering before returning close to normal_...

'... _we're in the coma ward. But it's here, it's getting in_...'

The Doctor nodded, "Right here in the wall of your bedroom," he pressed his ear against it, "Sometimes can you hear…"

"A voice?" Amelia cut in, "Yes."

"Prisoner Zero has escaped," Angel murmured, looking down, not wanting to look at the crack any longer.

The Doctor frowned, eyeing her a moment, he could hear an echoing distant voice, but couldn't make it out. He walked back to a water glass on the nightstand by Amelia's bed and poured out the water, looking at it before pressing it against the wall, and then his ear.

"Prisoner Zero has escaped," the voice said.

He nodded, she was right, "Prisoner Zero has escaped."

"That's what I heard," Amelia agreed, "What does it mean?"

"Prisoner Zero has escaped," the voice said again.

The Doctor moved away from the wall, "It means that, on the other side of this wall, there's a prison and they've lost a prisoner. Do you know what that means?"

"What?"

"You need a better wall," he moved her desk out of the way, "The only way to close the breach is to open it all the way. The forces will invert and it'll snap itself shut. Or..."

"What?"

"You know when grownups tell you everything's going to be fine and you think they're probably lying to make you feel better?"

"Yes."

"Everything's going to be fine."

He stepped over to Amelia's side, taking her hand and holding out the sonic in the other one. He glanced over at Angel who nodded, "Everything WILL be fine," she told both of them before smiling at Amelia, "Trust me, I just know things," before whispering conspiratorially, "Psychic."

He nodded, turning back and flashing the sonic. Amelia peered around as a bright light shined in the crack and it separated wide. There was a dim light past it, through which there was a faint outline of bars.

"Prisoner Zero has escaped," a voice said as the Doctor stepped closer to it, "Prisoner Zero has escaped."

"Hello?" he tried to peer in, "Hello?"

A giant blue eye suddenly appeared in the crack.

"What's that?" Amelia squeezed the Doctor's hand.

A small beam of light flew out from the crack and hit the Doctor. He fell against the bed as the crack slammed shut, sealing itself, "There," the Doctor smiled, "You see, told you it would close. Good as new."

"What was that thing? Was that Prisoner Zero?"

"That might have been Prisoner Zero's guard?" Angel guessed, glancing at the Doctor, feeling _much_ better now that the crack was gone, it really unnerved her. She eyed the Doctor a moment, wondering why it hadn't unnerved him, why he was so calm facing it when she was freaking out about it, but shook her head, they both had tried to remain as calm as they could for Amelia.

"Whatever it was," the Doctor shrugged, "It sent me a message," he held up the psychic paper, "Psychic paper, takes a lovely little message. 'Prisoner Zero has escaped.' But why tell us? Unless..." he stood up suddenly.

"Unless what?" Amelia frowned.

The Doctor looked around, "Unless Prisoner Zero escaped through here. But he couldn't have," he looked at Angel, "We'd know. You'd've sensed it," he ran out of the room and into the hall, looking around in confusion, "It's difficult. Brand new me, nothing works yet. But there's something I'm missing..."

Angel stepped out of the room and over to his side, her gaze being pulled and fixing on the door at the end of the hall, tensing.

He looked at her and tried to look at what she was...but couldn't, and realized just what it meant for that to happen. He turned his head, trying a different approach, "In the corner..." he slowly turned his head so that the door appeared just in his peripheral vision, "Of my eye."

"The TARDIS!" Angel gasped, running down the stairs moments before an echoing sound of machinery and a deep bell ran out.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" the Doctor shouted, running after her, Amelia following him out into the night.

"We need to get inside!" Angel called, frantically hoisting herself up onto the edge of the TARDIS, "The engines are about to phase and it'll burn her from the inside out!" and with that, she jumped back into the box.

"But...it's just a box!" Amelia shook her head as the Doctor ran over and freed the grappling hook, "How can a box have engines?"

"It's not a box," the Doctor explained, "It's a time machine."

"What, a real one? You've got a real time machine?"

"Not for much longer if we can't get her stabilized. Five-minute hop into the future should do it," he quickly tied the rope to the door handles.

"Can I come?"

"Not safe in here, not yet. Five minutes. Give me five minutes, I'll be right back," he hopped onto the edge and was about to jump when…

"People always say that."

The Doctor looked back and jumped to the ground, looking her in the eye, "Am I people? Do I even _look_ like people? Trust me, I'm the Doctor."

Amelia started to smile at that.

"Doctor!" Angel cried from inside.

He winked at the girl and climbed back onto the edge, holding the rope before jumping in, "Geronimo!"

The TARDIS doors shut and Amelia watched as it disappeared.

As soon as it was gone she ran back inside and straight to her room. She pulled out a small suitcase from under her bed and began to throw clothes and other items in there. She locked it and ran back downstairs, past the now open door at the end of the hall, not even noticing it. She ran outside, wearing a warmer coat and a hat and sat down where the TARDIS had disappeared, waiting.

She didn't even notice a shadowy figure dart past the window of the kitchen.

~8~

The TARDIS materialized in Amelia's back garden in daylight, the Doctor throwing the doors open as he and Angel coughed, rushing out, using bits of cloth to cover their noses and mouths while smoke billowed from the TARDIS.

"Keep an eye on her," the Doctor told Angel before running towards the house, leaving her to care for the box as he went to protect the little girl, "Amelia! Amelia! I worked out what it was. I know what I was missing! You've got to get out of there!" he flashed the lock with the sonic and ran in.

"Calm down girl," Angel whispered, stroking the corner of the TARDIS, "I know, I know he's an idiot, he is. I'm sorry, but you need to calm down or you'll make yourself sick."

The TARDIS just hummed, sounding almost frantic.

"What is it girl?" she shook her head, she couldn't understand, it was like...the box was too overwhelmed to get whatever it was she was trying to say across.

~8~

The Doctor ran into the house, looking around, "Amelia?" he ran upstairs, "Amelia, are you alright? Are you there?" he ran straight to the door that he'd glimpsed before and tried to open it with the sonic, "Prisoner Zero is here. Prisoner Zero is here! Prisoner Zero is here! Do you understand me? Prisoner Zero is..."

~8~

"Duck…" Angel whispered, blinking.

~8~

The Doctor turned, hearing a creak behind him, only to be smashed in the head with a cricket bat.

~8~

"Yes," Angel nodded at the TARDIS, "He's done it again," she sighed, reaching over to pull the doors to the TARDIS shut, before she ran off towards the house, only to find that the door had locked itself again.

~8~

A male nurse with light brown hair, and a slightly large nose, wearing blue scrubs followed a woman in a business suit towards the coma ward of the local hospital where the patients were laid out, unconscious. She stopped in front of the beds and looked at the nurse, "So. They all called out at once, _that's_ what you're saying?" he nodded, " _All_ of them, all the _coma_ patients," she flipped through the files, "You _do_ understand that these people are all comatose, don't you? They can't speak."

"Yes, Dr. Ramsden," he nodded.

"Then why are you wasting my time?"

"Because they called for you."

"Me?"

"Yes...and for..."

"And for who?"

"Doctor," a patient called out softly, startling the two as they looked over, "Angel…" all the other patients began to speak, calling out for 'Doctor' and 'Angel' as well.

~8~

The Doctor slowly came to, his vision clearing, to see a female police officer in a very short skirt speaking into her radio, "White male, mid-20s, breaking and entering. Send me some backup, I've got him restrained," she ended the conversation and turned to see the Doctor awake, "Oi, you! Sit still."

He moaned, "Cricket bat. I'm getting cricket bat."

"You were breaking and entering."

He tried to get up, but realized the woman had apparently handcuffed him to the radiator. He winced and rubbed his head, "Well, that's much better. Brand new me, whack on the head. _Just_ what it needed."

"Do you want to shut up now? I've got backup on the way!"

"Hang on, no, wait, you're a policewoman."

"And you're breaking and entering. You see how this works?"

"But what are you doing here? Where's Amelia?"

The woman blinked, "Amelia Pond?"

"Yeah. Little Scottish girl," he rubbed his forehead, feeling a sort of pressure building there, "Where is she? I promised her five minutes but the engines were phasing. I suppose I must have gone a bit far. Has something happened to her?"

"Amelia Pond hasn't lived here in a long time."

"How long?"

"Six months."

"No, no, no! I can't be six months late! I said five minutes. I promised," he shook his head as the officer turned away, "What happened to her? What happened to Amelia Pond?"

"Sarge, it's me again," she called into the radio, "Hurry it up, this guy knows something about Amelia Pond…"

The Doctor's gaze landed on the door from before a little niggling in the back of his mind.

~8~

Angel frowned as she closed her eyes, concentrating hard. She'd been calling the Doctor in his mind for the last few minutes but he hadn't responded. She could feel him at the edge of her mind, but it seemed like he was ignoring her for some reason.

She opened her eyes and looked at the lock, he only ever did that when the situation was really bad and needed his full concentration. And if it was _that_ bad...she should be there...

~8~

Dr. Ramsden examined the first patient who spoke, an older man who had pictures of his dog on the nightstand, "I don't think they were even conscious."

"Dr. Ramsden, there is another sort of, um, funny thing," the nurse added.

"Yes, I know. Dr. Carver told me about your conversation. We've been very patient with you, Rory. You're a good enough nurse, but for God's sake..."

"I've _seen_ them!"

"These patients are under 24-hour supervision! We know if their blood pressure changes. There's _no_ possibility you'd have seen them wandering in the village! Why are you giving me your phone?!"

"It's a camera too," he held out the phone.

"You need to take some time off, Rory," she said, reaching for the phone when a pager beeped, "A lot of time off. Start now," Rory tried to argue, "Now!"

Rory nodded and left.

~8~

Angel looked down at the doorknob and clutched it with both hands, smiling as she saw the golden energy of the Vortex drifting out of them and into the door...beaming as it clicked unlocked. She had just pushed the door open, when the TARDIS gave a pained groan, like a very sick grinding noise.

She stopped, feeling like the box was calling to her, begging her not to go in there. She looked back at it, it felt like the box was asking her to stay with her. She swallowed and looked back at the door then the TARDIS. She quickly dashed over to the box, "What is it girl?" she asked, reaching for the doors but they wouldn't open, "Please, the Doctor needs me. What's wrong?"

~8~

"I need to speak to whoever lives in this house, now," the Doctor said, still sitting on the floor. He rubbed the side of his head, he was starting to get a headache now but he shook it off, it was not the time.

" _I_ live here," the woman stated.

"But you're the police."

"Yes, and this is where I live. You got a problem with that?!"

"How many rooms?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"On this floor. How many rooms on this floor? Count them for me now."

"Why?"

"Because it will change your life."

"Five," she pointed them out, "One, two, three, four, five."

"Six," he nodded at the door she missed.

"Six?"

"Look."

"Look where?"

"Exactly where you don't want to look. Where you never want to look, the corner of your eye. Look behind you."

She slowly turned around and spotted the door, "That's...that is not possible. How's that possible?"

"There's a perception filter round the door. Angel sensed it the last time we were here. I should've seen it."

"But that's a whole room. That's a _whole room_ I've never even noticed."

"The filter stops you. Something came a while ago to hide. It's still hiding. You need to uncuff me now!"

She turned and slowly started to walk down the hall towards the room, "I don't have the key. I lost it."

"How can you have _lost_ it?! Stay away from that door!" but she kept walking, "Do not touch that door!" she put her hand on the knob, "Listen to me! Do not open that..." she opened it, "Why does no one ever listen to me? Do I just have a face that nobody listens to?" she slowly walked into the room, "Again..." he frantically searched his pockets for the sonic, "My screwdriver, where is it?"

~8~

Angel frowned as the box was silent, "I'm sorry," she told it, stepping back, about to go to the house once more...

When the TARDIS gave the saddest sound she'd ever heard. She closed her eyes, and nodded, "Ok," she whispered, stepping back to it, "I'll stay, but if the Doctor needs me..." she left the rest unsaid, for it didn't have to be said, if he needed her, she'd go.

She glanced up at the windows to the second floor, calling out to the Doctor once more, but still...no reply.

She looked over her shoulder as the TARDIS gave a quiet hum, almost sad, almost apologetic. But...she wasn't sure what the box was apologizing for.

"It'll be ok," she whispered, patting the corner of it as she turned and kept her gaze on the windows, waiting for any sign or feeling that the Doctor would need her help.

~8~

The woman looked around the dusty room, where old boxes were set up on the floor, the curtains barely there anymore. The walls were stained with water damage. She looked over at the table in the middle of the room.

"Silver thing, blue at the end!" she could hear the man shouting, "Where did it go?"

"There's nothing here," she called back.

"Whatever's there stopped you seeing the whole room. What makes you think you could see it? Now, please, just get out!"

"Silver, blue at the end?" her gaze landed on the sonic, sitting on the table.

"My screwdriver, yeah."

"It's here."

"Must have rolled under the door."

"Yeah. Must have. And then it must have jumped up on the table..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, I hope you all liked how Angel was the one to start the fish custard thing :) I know when my siblings are hungry and going on and on about what to eat, even if I've eaten only an hour before I end up hungry and eating with them lol.
> 
> For this chapter, all I can say is...Angel is right, something IS wrong, very, very, very wrong and the TARDIS IS aware of what that is. There were a few hints in this chapter about it, even more coming up in the next though. Care to take any preliminary guesses as to what it is? }:)
> 
> Either way, next chapter Angel meets Rory! Woo! :) I am seriously dying to get to the point where he starts to travel with them ^-^


	2. The Eleventh Hour: Amy Pond

"Get out of there!" the Doctor was calling, "Get out of there!" but the woman just moved to pick up the sonic, examining the odd metal wand with the blue light on the end of it, "Get out! Get out of there!"

She rolled her eyes at his yells, but froze, looking back towards the window, feeling something watching her from behind. She couldn't see as she turned, but an eel-like alien had eased its way down from the ceiling, covered in goo, with a mouth full of rather sharp teeth. She looked one way, the alien turning with her, keeping behind her, and then another way, but still couldn't see it.

"What is it? What are you doing?"

"There's nothing here," she replied, frowning, that feeling like something was breathing on the back of her neck hitting her again, "But..."

"Corner of your eye."

"What is it?"

" _Don't_ try to see it," he gave her fair warning, "If it knows you've seen it, it will _kill_ you. And I don't need to be Angel to know that. Don't look at it. Do...not...look!"

She turned one way and quickly looked back in the opposite direction, gasping and jumping back as she came face-to-face with the alien, and screamed.

"Get out!" he ordered and she didn't need to be told twice as she bolted out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her, and rushed over to him, "Give me that!" he pulled the sonic from her and flashed it at the door, managing to lock it before turning to the handcuffs, but it didn't work, "What's the bad alien done to you?"

"Will that door hold it?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, course!" he replied, sarcasm heavy in his words, bashing the sonic on his hand, "It's an inter-dimensional multi-form from outer space, they're all terrified of _wood_."

A bright light flashed around the edges of the door.

~8~

Angel looked back at the house, fidgeting, wanting to go in, but every single time she took a step away from the box, it let out a pained grinding noise that she couldn't bring herself to walk away from. The Doctor...he'd be ok, she could feel it, he wasn't alone, he had the sonic, and he'd be free soon, she knew it. But the TARDIS...

"What's wrong girl?" she turned, trying the doors, but they were locked.

Why call her back if she wouldn't let her inside to help?

~8~

"What's that?" the woman jumped back, to his side, pressing herself back against the window as she stared at the door, "What's it doing?"

The Doctor wiped the screwdriver with his fingers, "I don't know, getting dressed? Run. Just go. Your backup's coming, I'll be fine."

"There is no backup."

He stared at her, "I heard you on the radio, you called for backup."

"I was pretending. It's a pretend radio."

"You're a policewoman!"

"I'm a kiss-o-gram!" she pulled off her hat and waves of ginger hair fell free. The door burst open, literally falling onto the floor as an older man in blue coveralls stood there, holding the leash to a large Rottweiler. He slowly walked forward, "But it's just..."

"No, it isn't," the Doctor muttered, "Look at the faces."

The man growled and barked while the dog just looked at them, expressionless.

"What? I'm sorry, but _what_?" she looked back down at the Doctor.

"It's all one creature. One creature disguised as two," the man and dog turned their heads in unison, "Clever old multi-form. A bit of a rush job, though. Got the voice a bit muddled, did you?" they looked straight at him, "Mind you, where did you get the pattern from? You'd need a psychic link, a live feed. How did you fix that?"

It snarled.

~8~

The male coma patient twitched in his bed, snarling lightly.

~8~

The multi-form advanced on them, opening its mouth to show the same sharp teeth the woman had seen on the eel-like alien.

"Stay, boy!" the Doctor commanded and, surprisingly, it stopped, "Her and me, we're safe. Want to know why? She sent for backup."

"I didn't send for backup!" she whispered, quite loudly, loud enough, it seemed for the multi-form to notice as it looked at her.

"I know, that was a clever lie to save our lives," he told her quickly before turning to the creature, "Ok, yeah, NO backup! And _that's_ why we're safe. Alone, we're not a threat to you. If we HAD backup, then you'd have to kill us!"

~8~

Angel looked up, a moment before a large spaceship appeared hovering in the sky, an eye sticking out of the bottom of it.

"Oh...wonderful..." she sighed, rubbing her head, she was starting to get a headache now. She'd been trying to call the Doctor, to see if he was ok, if he needed her help, but it seemed he was a bit frantic at the moment, trying to free himself and hadn't replied.

~8~

"Attention, Prisoner Zero," a voice echoed from outside, "The human residence is surrounded. Attention Prisoner Zero. The human residence is surrounded."

"What's that?" the woman gasped.

"That would be backup," he said before turning back to Zero once more, "Ok, one more time. We _do_ have backup and _that's_ definitely why we're safe."

"Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated," the voice stated.

"Well, safe apart from, you know, incineration."

Zero turned into one of the other rooms in the hall to look out as the voice repeated its warning.

The Doctor banged the sonic on the floor, trying to get it to work, "Work, work, work. C'mon," he bashed it again and it kicked into life, he quickly flashed it against the handcuffs and looked at her, "Run!" he stood up, "Run!" and pushed her, following her down the stairs. They burst outside, the Doctor sonicing the door shut, "Kiss-o-gram?"

"Yes!"

"Why'd you pretend to be a policewoman?"

"You broke into my house! It was this or a French maid!"

"Doctor!" Angel shouted from over by the TARDIS, before rushing over and hugging him tightly, "Are you ok?" she pulled back to look at him as he gave her a pat on the back.

"Fine, fine," he nodded, rushing over to the TARDIS and looking at the box.

"What's going on?" the woman asked, striding over to him as Angel glanced at the house and back at them, "Tell me! Tell me!"

"An alien convict is hiding in your spare room disguised as a man and a dog, and some other aliens are about to incinerate your house," he said, spinning around to face her as Angel cautiously walked over, eyeing him carefully, "Any questions?"

"Yes!"

"Me too."

"It won't work," Angel said as he reached for the key, about to try opening the TARDIS, "She's still rebuilding, she's not going to unlock the doors," she reached out and touched the corner of the box, "Not even for me," she'd tried to get in, thinking something might be wrong inside and that was why the box kept humming at her whenever she tried to go towards the house. She paused and glanced at the Doctor, frowning, "Why didn't you answer me? I was calling you before."

"Really?" he muttered, trying to look through the TARDIS windows, distracted, "I didn't hear you."

"How could you not have heard m…" she began when the voice boomed once more.

"Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated."

Zero appeared in the window, barking at them.

"Come on!" the woman took hold of the Doctor's arm, pulling him away.

He resisted and pulled back, "No, wait, hang on, wait, wait, wait. The shed," he ran over to it, "We destroyed that shed last time we were here, smashed it to pieces."

"So there's a new one. Let's go."

"But the new one's got old. It's ten years old at least," he sniffed it.

"I know," Angel cut in as he was about to taste it, " _12_ years."

"We're not six months late, we're 12 years late!" he exclaimed, rounding on the woman.

"He's coming," she said nervously.

"You said six months. Why did you say six months?"

"We've got to go."

"This matters. This is _important_. Why did you say six months?"

"Why did you say five minutes?!" she snapped, sounding incredibly hurt...and incredibly Scottish.

"What?" the Doctor's eyes widened.

Angel, though, didn't seem surprised, she could tell right from the start it was little Amelia. She was handling the situation much like her younger self had, calmly, not scared, not worried, just...curious. Brave. It was not a reaction one saw often so she noticed when the woman, the ginger woman, had the same reaction as the ginger girl. She blinked a bit, confused as to why the Doctor hadn't noticed, but had to shrug, he'd just regenerated and gotten hit with a cricket bat apparently...or perhaps this him just...didn't notice things the way his last self had.

She shook her head, she had to stop that, she couldn't compare him to his last self, he was a new person, a new Doctor, with new traits and a new personality to match. And he'd only been this man for an hour at most, it would take a bit longer to discover what sort of man this new new new Doctor was, he just needed time.

"Come on," Amelia turned.

"What?" the Doctor repeated.

"Come on!" she grabbed his arm and pulled him.

"What?"

"Doctor just go!" Angel pushed him lightly to get him going, calling a quick apology to the TARDIS as she went with them, knowing she HAD to go this time.

"Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated..."

They ran out of the back, just past Zero as it opened the door.

~8~

"You're Amelia?" the Doctor stopped and turned to her as she stalked down a road towards the village.

"You're late," she kept on going.

"Amelia Pond, _you're_ the little girl."

"I'm Amelia and you're late."

"What happened again?" Angel frowned, glancing between them, not quite sure why Amelia kept saying they were late.

She'd been a bit busy in the TARDIS, trying to keep her from disappearing before the Doctor had made it in, which the box actually seemed rather eager to do, which worried her. The box had never reacted like that before, yes, sparked or something when the Doctor insulted her, but never tried to just...leave him somewhere. The TARDIS had done everything to break through the Trickster's power to rescue them, to protect her pilots, so why was she so...cross with the Doctor all of a sudden. He'd only regenerated, it was natural, it had happened before and the box had been just fine. So she'd been understandably distracted in trying to keep the box locked down a few moments longer, she really wasn't sure what the Doctor might have said to the girl 12 years ago that had made her so cross at the moment, though she could guess that it had something to do with him promising to be back in five minutes and it being 12 years, given the conversation that kept coming up.

"12 years," Amelia stated, reaffirming Angel's thoughts.

"She hit me with a cricket bat," the Doctor pointed accusingly at Amelia.

"12 _years_."

"A _cricket bat_."

"12 years and four psychiatrists."

"Four?"

"I kept biting them."

"Why?" Angel asked, shaking her head, she knew she didn't know everything about humans, but she was pretty sure biting was bad.

"They said you weren't real," she whispered, glancing at them, though her attention drifted to the Doctor a moment longer.

"Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated," the voice boomed from the sirens of an ice cream truck.

Amelia stopped, "No, no, no, come on…what? We're being staked out by an ice cream van?"

The Doctor dashed over to it, the girls following, "What's that? Why are you playing that?"

"It's supposed to be Claire De Lune," the vender shook his head.

The Doctor picked up the player and listened to it, "Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated. Repeat, Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated," he stepped back from the van and spotted a jogger with an MP3 player, receiving the message as well as a woman on her mobile.

"That's not good," Angel murmured, seeing that. Whenever something played everywhere, it was NEVER good. She crossed her arms, thinking of the 456, how they'd spoken through the children, of the 'ghosts' that had appeared all over the world, of Jamie and how he'd spoken through anything with a speaker...it always meant bad things to come. She didn't need to be psychic to know that.

"Doctor, what's happening?" Amelia looked at them, but the Doctor just leapt over a low white fence and into a lovely garden, Angel and Amelia following as well.

Angel slowed a moment, stepping over the low fence instead, knowing her coordination, she was likely to trip if she tried jumping over it. She winced though as she ran past a rose bush, nicking her arm on a thorn as she passed, but had little time to think on it as she rushed after Amy and the Doctor.

~8~

And old woman stared at a large blue eye on the TV screen, trying to change the channel, getting the same image, when the Doctor ran in with Angel and Amelia.

"Hello!" he greeted, "Sorry to burst in, we're doing a special on television faults in this area…"

"Amelia," Angel whispered and he remembered the girl's outfit.

"Also, crimes. Let's have a look," he took the remote from the old woman.

"I was just about to phone," the woman remarked.

Angel smiled, "Well, I'm a bit psychic," she winked at the woman.

The woman laughed, thinking it a joke, and turned to the Doctor, "It's on every channel," before she noticed Amelia standing there too, "Hello, Amy, dear. Are you a policewoman now?"

"Well, sometimes," she shrugged.

"I thought you were a nurse."

"I can be a nurse."

"Or, actually, a nun?"

"I dabble."

"Amy, who're your friends?"

"Who's Amy?" the Doctor eyed her, "You were Amelia."

"Yeah, now I'm Amy," she remarked.

"Amelia Pond," Angel sighed, "Was a lovely name though."

"Bit fairy tale," she looked away.

"I know you, don't I?" the woman looked between the Doctor and Angel, turning to face the Doctor, "I've seen you somewhere before."

"Not me," the Doctor replied, "Brand new face..." he made a face at her, "First time on," he looked at Amy, "And what sort of job's a kiss-o-gram?"

"I go to parties and I kiss people," she shifted, "With outfits. It's a laugh."

"You were a little girl five minutes ago!"

"You're worse than my aunt," she rolled her eyes.

"I'm the Doctor, I'm worse than everybody's aunt," he remarked before looking at the woman, "And that is _not_ how I'm introducing myself."

Angel eyed him a moment, it was...no, she shook her head, she really did have to stop that. This wasn't the same Doctor any more, he was new and different and he would be different and act different. She couldn't expect him to introduce her when he was in the middle of saving the world from Prisoner Zero. He always did get a bit distracted during adventures, especially with danger looming. His last self had introduced her with him, sometimes first, but she had been a timid little girl then, she was sure that was how others saw her. This new her was better, stronger, capable of introducing herself.

So she smiled and held out a hand to the woman, "Hello, I'm the Angel. Nice to meet you," she swallowed though when there was silence after, just the sound of the Doctor's sonic humming as he flashed the radio, something...missing...

The Doctor paused, hearing the same message in different languages before he turned it off, "Ok, so it's everywhere, in every language. They're broadcasting to the whole world."

"Oh that really isn't ever good," Angel remarked as she glanced outside, as though expecting to see an army of something ready to attack.

The Doctor looked at her and then the window and her, before he moved to the window, opening it up and leaning out side to look at the sky.

"What's up there?" Amy frowned, "What are you looking for?"

"Ok, planet this size, two poles, your basic molten core..." the Doctor stepped back inside, "They're going to need a 40 percent fission blast," a young, toned man entered the room with a laptop and the Doctor walked up to him, still rambling, "But they'll have to power up first, won't they? So assuming a medium-sized starship, that's 20 minutes," he moved on his tippy toes to stand level with the man, measuring his new height, before standing down, "What do you think, 20 minutes?" he looked at Angel, knowing her affinity with guessing time, "Yeah, 20 minutes," he nodded as she opened her mouth to speak, "We've got 20 minutes."

Angel eyed him a moment, it seemed this new him was even ruder than the last.

"20 minutes to what?" Amy crossed her arms.

"Are you the Doctor?" the man looked at him before glancing at Angel, "And...what was it, the...Angel?"

"They are, aren't they!" the woman grinned, "He's the Doctor! The Raggedy Doctor. And his Angel friend. All those cartoons you did when you were little. The Raggedy Doctor, it's him!"

"I know," Amy sighed.

Angel laughed, "I'm not his f..." she began at the same time the Doctor _had_ to ask, "Cartoons?"

He sat on the sofa, eyeing Amy with a bemused look, finding it FAR too amusing.

Angel eyed the Doctor a moment, a...sinking feeling starting to settle in her stomach.

"Gran, it's them, isn't it?" the man asked, "It's really him!"

"Jeff, shut up!" Amy cut in and turned to the Doctor, "20 minutes to what?"

"The human residence," the Doctor looked at the TV, "They're not talking about your house, they're talking about the planet. Somewhere up there, there's a spaceship and it's going to incinerate the planet. 20 minutes to the end of the world."

~8~

A group of star-shaped spaceships orbited the Earth, a blue eye sticking out from under them.

~8~

A young boy raced down the road, playing with a toy helicopter, as the Doctor, Angel, and Amy walked past quickly in the opposite direction, "What is this place?" the Doctor looked around, stopping to try and get an idea of what they had to work with, "Where are we?"

"Leadworth," Amy replied as Angel crossed her arms and just looked at the area, her gaze turning towards a small...thing...a few feet away, frowning at it.

"Where's the rest of it?"

"This is it."

"Is there an airport?"

"No."

"A nuclear power station?"

"No."

"Even a little one?"

"No."

"Nearest city?"

"Gloucester, half an hour by car."

"We don't have half an hour. Do we have a car?"

"No."

"Well, that's good! Fantastic, that is. 20 minutes to save the world and I've got a post office. And it's shut!"

"What's that?" Angel asked quietly, walking over to a small pond that she hadn't been able to look away from since she'd noticed it.

"It's a duck pond," Amy replied, eyeing her oddly as she followed the woman over to it with the Doctor, she was almost as odd as the Doctor.

Angel just crouched down, locking her arms around her knees as she looked into the pond and then around it, "Well...where have the ducks gone?"

"I don't know. There's never any ducks really."

"So..." she looked up at Amy, "How do you know that it's a duck pond then?"

"It just is. Is it important, the duck pond?"

Angel frowned, looking back at the pond, she didn't know. It _seemed_ like such an important thing to ask about, but she just...didn't know why.

But before she could begin to try and explain her reasons for asking, even the Doctor looking confused as to why she was so focused on it, the Doctor collapsed in a tremor of regeneration pain, sitting on the ground, gripping his chest, "I'm not ready, I'm not done yet."

"Do you need some tea?" Angel asked, moving to kneel before him, trying to check on him.

"I'm fine," he waved her off.

"But we're not," Angel looked up, distracted, just as the sky darkened.

"What's happening?" Amy looked up as well, "Why's it going dark?" the sun seemed grayish, flickering, before returning close to normal, "So what's wrong with the sun?"

"Nothing," the Doctor said, "You're looking at it through a force field. They've sealed off your upper atmosphere, now they're getting ready to boil the planet," he stood up and looked back at the green where the villagers were snapping photos of the sun, Angel slowly standing as well, absently brushing off the skirt of her dress as she looked at him in concern, "Oh, and here they come, the Human Race. The end comes, as it was always going to, down a video phone!"

"This isn't real, is it? This is some kind of big windup."

"Why would we wind you up?"

"You told me you had a time machine."

"And you believed me."

"Then I grew up."

The Doctor shook his head, "Oh, you never want to do that. No!" his eyes widened, "Hang on, shut up, wait! I missed it!" he smacked his head, "I saw it and I missed it," he smacked himself again, "What did I see?" he looked around, "I saw...what did I see?" he thought back, thinking on everything he'd seen, people taking pictures of the sun, but then...one man in scrubs taking a photo of Zero with his dog instead, "20 minutes," he looked at Angel, "I can do it. 20 minutes, the planet burns," he looked at Amy, "Run to your loved ones and say goodbye, or stay and help us."

"No," Amy stated.

"I'm sorry?"

"No!" she grabbed him by the tie and dragged him off.

"Amy stop!" Angel called, rushing after them, worried for that tie, she _loved_ that tie.

"Amy!" the Doctor struggled, "No! No! What are you doing?" she pushed him against a car as the driver stepped out, slamming his tie into the door and locking it with the remote she'd nicked off the driver.

"Oh Amy," Angel frowned, sad for the tie, it was the last tie the Doctor's last self had worn and now...it was in danger of being ripped in a car door.

Well that wasn't very nice.

"Are you out of your mind?" the Doctor demanded.

"Who are you?" Amy looked at them, "Who are the both of you?"

"You know who we are Amy," Angel told her gently, sensing it becoming a little overwhelming for the woman.

"No, really, who _are_ you?"

"Look at the sky!" the Doctor reminded her, "End of the world, 20 minutes."

"Better talk quickly, then!"

"Amy, I am going to need my car back," the driver said.

"Yes, in a bit. Now go and have coffee."

"Right, yes," the man nodded and headed off.

The Doctor took the apple out of his pocket and tossed it into the air to her, "Catch," he watched as Amy saw the smiley face on it, breathing a sigh of relief, Angel had been right to save it for later, "I'm the Doctor, she's Angel. We're time travelers. Everything we told you 12 years ago is true. We're real. What's happening in the sky is real, and if you don't let me go now, everything you've ever known is over."

"I don't believe you."

The Doctor took hold of her wrist, "Just 20 minutes. Just believe me for _20 minutes_. Look at it. Fresh as the day you gave it to me. And you _know_ it's the same one," she looked at the apple and back at him, "Amy, believe for 20 minutes."

"What do we do?" she asked, unlocking the door.

"Stop that nurse!" the Doctor yelled, turning and running onto the green, grabbing Rory's phone out of his hand as he dashed past, "The sun's going out, and you're photographing a man and a dog. Why?"

"Amy?" Rory looked over at the ginger.

"Hi!" Amy smiled, "Oh, this is Rory, he's a...friend."

"Boyfriend."

"Kind of boyfriend."

"Amy!"

Angel smiled at them, looking at Rory a moment, seeing the way he looked at Amy, with a little sparkle in his eye.

"Man and dog, why?" the Doctor interrupted.

"Oh, my God," Rory stared at them, realization dawning on him, "It's them!"

"Just answer his question, please," Amy replied.

"It's them, though. The Doctor. The Raggedy Doctor and Angel."

"Yeah, they came back."

"Hello," Angel greeted the stunned man with a smile, "Nice to meet you."

Rory just shook his head, "But they were a _story_. They were a _game_."

The Doctor grabbed Rory by the shirt, "Man and dog, _why_? Tell me _now_."

"Sorry," Rory shook his head, "Because he can't be there. Because he's…"

"In a hospital, in a coma?" Angel guessed.

"Yeah," Rory frowned, "I was about to say that…how'd you know I was about to say that?"

"Psychic," the Doctor remarked offhandedly.

"Thief," Angel countered automatically but not before casting an odd glance at the Doctor, something in his voice just sounded...off.

"Multi-form, you see?" the Doctor nodded, letting go of Rory, "Disguise itself as anything, but it needs a live feed, a psychic link with a living but dormant mind," he looked over, hearing a snapping and snarling to see Zero a few feet away, "Prisoner Zero."

"What, there's a Prisoner Zero too?!" Rory stared.

"Yes," Amy said.

"Don't worry Rory," Angel smiled reassuringly at him, "Everything'll be ok, I promise," she crossed her hearts.

He looked at her, a bit startled she was actually taking a moment to try and offer him comfort, even if it was a promise he doubted would be kept. There were spaceships and aliens and coma patients running around. He didn't see how it would be ok, but...it was nice that she'd noticed his alarm at least, Amy was just looking at the Doctor.

An electrical buzzing noise started above them as they looked up to see a spaceship fly over the green, the eye swiveling back and forth as it looked.

"See, that ship up there is scanning this area for non-terrestrial technology," the Doctor pulled the sonic out of his pocket, "And nothing says non-terrestrial like a sonic screwdriver," he held it up and turned it on.

Chaos erupted as streetlights shattered, car alarms blared, sirens wailed, and everyone began panicking. A fire truck drove away on its own as the firemen chased after it.

"I think someone's going to notice, don't you?" he lowered the sonic as Zero barked, aiming it at a phone box which exploded…and then the sonic itself sparked and fizzled causing the Doctor to drop it, "No, no, no, don't do that!"

"Look, it's going!" Rory pointed as the ship turned and headed off.

"No, come back, he's here! Come back! He's here, Prisoner Zero is here. Come back, he's here! Prisoner Zero is..." he turned to Angel, "A little warning when the sonic is going to do that please!"

"I can't see everything!" she countered as Zero turned into a mist and fell down a drain.

"Doctor!" Amy shouted, "The drain. It just sort of melted and went down the drain."

"Well, of course it did," the Doctor remarked.

"What do we do now?"

"It's hiding in human form. We need to drive it into the open. No TARDIS, no screwdriver, 17 minutes. Come on, think. Think!"

~8~

"Barney?" Dr. Ramsden called as the man in the coma ward twitched, "Barney...Barney? Can you hear me, Barney? Barney? Barney?"

Zero appeared in its true form through the vent over Barney's bed, watching.

~8~

The Doctor, Amy, Angel, and Rory stood above the drain, looking down at it, "So that thing, THAT hid in my house for 12 years?" Amy frowned, disturbed by that thought.

"Multi-forms can live for millennia," the Doctor said quickly, "12 years is a pit stop."

"So how come you show up again on the same day that lot do? The same minute?"

"They're looking for him, but followed us. They saw us through the crack, got a fix. They're only late 'cos we are."

" _You_ are," Angel corrected with a small smile, " _I_ wanted to set the controls for half a twist of the atom accelerator, _you_ said it should be a whole twist."

"What's she on about?" Rory asked Amy, confused.

Angel turned to him, about to explain when the Doctor cut in, knowing they didn't have time to get into the discussion on how to work the TARDIS, the lives of the Human Race were on the line, "Now, sport, give me your phone!"

"How can they be real? They were _never_ real."

"Phone, now, give me!"

Rory held out his phone, "They were just a game. We were kids. You made me dress up as him."

The Doctor looked at the photos, scrolling through them as Angel looked over his arm, "These are all coma patients?" Angel asked him, a small frown on her face, sad to know the men and women in the photos were all lying helpless in a hospital bed, the alien using their subconscious to hide himself. That was rude.

"Yeah."

"No, they're all the multi-form," the Doctor corrected, "Eight comas, eight disguises for Prisoner Zero."

"He had a dog, though," Amy cut in, "There's a dog in a coma?"

"The coma patient dreams he's walking a dog, Prisoner Zero gets a dog. Laptop!" he pointed at Amy, "Your friend, what was his name? Not him, the good looking one."

"Thanks," Rory huffed.

"Jeff," Amy replied.

"Oh, _thanks_!"

Angel laughed, "He's just intimidated Rory," she told him, patting him on the arm.

Rory looked at her a bit shocked that she seemed to be telling him, in her own words, that she thought he was handsome. Or possibly that the Doctor thought he was handsome. Whichever one, he was flattered. That was actually the first time he could recall any woman commenting _positively_ on his appearance.

Most tended to make fun of his nose.

"He had a laptop in his bag, a laptop," the Doctor continued, "Big bag, big laptop, I need Jeff's laptop. You two, get to the hospital, get everyone out, clear the whole floor," he tossed Angel the phone, "Phone Angel when you're done," and then he ran off leaving Angel to follow after him.

"Doctor!" Angel shouted.

"Your car, come on," Amy pulled Rory away to his car.

"But how can they be here?" Rory continued as they pulled away, "How can the Doctor and Angel be here?"

~8~

The Doctor and Angel burst into Jeff's home, the Doctor running through the hallway and into Jeff's bedroom where he was lying on his bed, using the laptop, "Hello. Laptop. Give me!" he grabbed it.

"No, no, no, no, wait, hang on!" Jeff tried to tug it back as Angel watched them, amused.

"It's fine, give it here," the Doctor took it and sat at the bottom of the bed, opening it...only to grimace, "Blimey! Get a girlfriend, Jeff!"

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh...Angel seems to be slowly figuring out that something is wrong :( But...IS anything wrong? Is it just the Doctor caught up in the moment? Prisoner Zero is on the loose, the aliens are about to burn the planet, he's only got 20 minutes, no TARDIS, no sonic, nothing really...quite a stressful situation...
> 
> Hmm...I suppose we'll find out...


	3. The Eleventh Hour: A New Companion

The door to the bedroom opened and Jeff's grandmother peeked in, making Jeff jump, flushing, embarrassed, "Gran!"

Angel smiled a bit at that, he looked like a child who had gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Mmm...thinking of cookies made her want brownies now, perhaps she should try the brownies Gwen had tried to get her to eat the last time they'd been in the TARDIS, with little slices of oranges on them...

"What are you doing?" his grandmother looked at the Doctor, pulling Angel out of her thoughts.

"The sun's gone wibbly, so right now, somewhere out there, there's going to be a big video conference call," the Doctor murmured, typing away, "All the experts in the world panicking at once, and do you know what they need?"

"You," Angel answered.

He nodded, grinning, "Me. Ah, and here they all are," he smiled, seeing the screen break into parts, quite a few men in each box, "All the big boys. NASA, Jodrell Bank, Tokyo Space Center, Patrick Moore..."

"Ooh, I like Patrick Moore," the old woman sighed dreamily.

"I'll get you his number, but watch him, he's a devil."

"You can't just hack in on a call like that," Jeff spoke up.

"Can't I?" the Doctor asked as he held the psychic paper before the webcam.

"Who are you?" one of the men asked, "This is a secure call. What are you doing?"

"Hello. I know, you should switch me off. But before you do, watch this."

"It's here too," another man called, as the Doctor typed away, "I'm getting it."

"Fermat's Theorem, the proof, and I mean the real one, never seen before. Poor old Fermat, got killed in a duel before he could write it down. My fault, I slept in. Oh, and here's an oldie but a goodie, why electrons have mass. And a personal favorite of mine, faster-than-light travel with two diagrams and a joke. Look at your screens. Whoever I am, I'm a genius. Look at the sun. You need all the help you can get. Fellas, pay attention."

Angel glanced over at the Doctor a moment before making her way to the window and looking out at the sun. She shifted, two different, yet very similar, feelings warring in her. One was concern, worry for Amy and Rory, she didn't like the idea of leaving the two humans alone, heading for the hospital, the location of Prisoner Zero's psychic links, in case Zero decided to return there. That Rory boy...he was nice, shy, and seemed very sweet, he seemed...familiar to her, important, but he also seemed a bit afraid and trying to hide it. She didn't like people being afraid, Amy seemed capable of handling herself, of facing down Zero and aliens and being alright, but Rory...it felt like he'd need some encouragement and...

She got the odd feeling that Amy almost...didn't notice him. Rory, she could tell, was head over heels in love with Amy, yet she seemed, well...rather focused on the Doctor actually. It made her feel uncomfortable, the way Amy looked at him, it...it reminded her quite a lot of how River looked at him. And...to be honest...she was worried as well for another reason.

The Doctor was acting...odd. Much more so than just regeneration or the danger at hand, it...she swallowed, glancing at him, it was disturbing to her that...he hadn't called her his Mate. It was probably nothing though, he HAD just gotten whacked in the head with a cricket bat and now had to deal with aliens about to burn the Earth, that didn't leave much time by way of introductions...

She shook her head and turned to look back out the window, hoping Amy and Rory were alright, she could speak to the Doctor later but right now, the Earth needed them.

~8~

Amy and Rory sped along to the hospital, pulling up outside the building with a screech, before running out of the car and past the main doors.

~8~

The Doctor typed something on the mobile in his hand while Angel sat before the laptop, keeping him up-to-date with what the experts were discussing, Jeff beside her, sitting just a bit too close to her for comfort, making her repeatedly shift to the side a little, "Sir, what are you doing?" one of the men called.

"I'm writing a computer virus," he explained, "Very clever, super-fast, and a tiny bit alive, but don't let on. Why am I writing it on a phone? Never mind, you'll find out. Ok, I'm sending this to all your computers. Get everyone who works for you sending this everywhere. Email, text, Facebook, Bebo, Twitter, radar dish, whatever you've got. Any questions?"

"Who's your lady friend?" Patrick winked at Angel.

Angel just shook her head at him and laughed, "A bit too old for you I'm afraid."

"What does this virus do?" another man questioned.

"It's a reset command, that's all," the Doctor said, "It resets counters, it gets in the Wi-Fi and resets every counter it can find. Clocks, calendars, anything with a chip will default at zero at exactly the same time. But, yeah, I could be lying, why should you trust me? I'll let my best man explain," silence, "Jeff, you're my best man."

"Your what?" Jeff looked up at him.

Angel closed the laptop partway as the Doctor turned to Jeff, "Listen to me. In ten minutes, you're going to be a legend. In ten minutes, everyone on that screen is going to be offering you any job you want. But first, you have to be magnificent. You have to make them trust you and get them working. This is it, Jeff. Right here, right now. This is when you fly. Today's the day you save the world."

"Why me?"

"It's your bedroom. Now go, go, go!" he ran out of the room, Angel getting up and following after.

Jeff opened the laptop, "Ok, guys, let's do this," he started typing.

"Oh, and delete your internet history," the Doctor popped back in before taking off again, running out of the house with Angel and looking around.

"This way," Angel called, leading him off.

~8~

Rory talked with the other nurses while Amy stood a few feet away on her mobile, "Something's happened up there, we can't get through," Rory told her as he walked over.

"Yes, but what's happened?" Amy asked as she redialed.

"I don't know. No one knows. Phone them."

"I'm phoning them. Doctor? Oh, Angel, we're at the hospital, but we can't get...oh!"

"What did she say?"

"Look in the mirror," she turned to see herself in police garb, "Ha ha! Uniform!" she put her hair up and picked up the phone again, "Are you on your way? You're going to need a car."

~8~

The Doctor drove a fire engine merrily down the way, "Don't worry!" he shouted as Angel held the phone up, "I've commandeered a vehicle!" he reached out, about to turn the siren on when he noticed Angel frowning and looking at the phone in her hand, "What is it?" he asked.

She blinked and shook her head, looking up at him, "The Wi-Fi," she began.

"What about it?" he frowned.

She paused, looking back at the phone, Luke Smith had said something about Sarah Jane making up a story that the Wi-Fi had gone mad and caused hallucinations when the Master changed all the humans. And now, just then, the Doctor talking about how he'd made something that got into the Wi-Fi...she couldn't help but feel like...there was something _more_ to it.

"I don't know," she admitted, "I just...this virus," she held up the phone, "You hacked into the Wi-Fi and put a slightly living virus in there, so, technically, someone else could too..."

"Yes, and?"

"What if...what if the Wi-Fi hacked into someone instead?" she wondered, "What if there was a living thing in the Wi-Fi?"

He looked at her a moment before laughing, "Something living in the Wi-Fi?" he shook his head, grinning as he turned the siren on.

Angel looked at him a long while, a bit...hurt. Only a _tiny_ bit though, the last him (and she really DID need to stop comparing the two) would have believed her, no matter what, and she knew that her thoughts that something could invade the Wi-Fi were out there even for them. She'd spoken of some ridiculous moment before and he'd laughed yes, but he'd gone along with it, he'd humored her. Perhaps this Doctor just needed a bit more proof, like...a solid vision or a real and genuine feeling instead of her mind getting ahead of her.

Still...her gaze returned to the phone in her hand, she couldn't shake that feeling though.

~8~

Rory and Amy stepped out of a lift to see the corridor was a mess, gurneys and tables overturned, scrubs and utensils littering the floor. A woman stood there in the middle of the hall, holding the hands of her two daughters, "Officer," she called.

"What happened?" Amy asked as they approached.

"There was a man. A man with a dog. I think Dr. Ramsden's dead. And the nurses."

Amy quickly phoned the Doctor, "Are you in?" Angel answered.

"Yep. But so's Prisoner Zero."

"You need to get out of there," the Doctor called.

Rory turned from Amy to the woman as she spoke again and he noticed it was one of _the girls_ speaking but with the mother's voice, "He was so angry. He kept shouting. And that dog, the size of that dog, I swear it was rabid," Amy and Rory backed away, "And he just went mad, attacking everyone. Where did he go, did you see? Has he gone? We hid in the ladies."

"Oh, I'm getting it wrong again, aren't I?" the mother asked, "I'm always doing that. So many mouths," they opened their mouths to reveal the teeth of Prisoner Zero.

"Oh, my God!" Rory gasped.

"Amy?" the Doctor yelled, "Amy, what's happening?" Rory and Amy ran down the corridor and into one of the wards, closing the doors behind them and sliding a broom through the handle, "Amy, talk to me!"

They backed away from the doors, to the center of the ward as Amy lifted the phone, "We're in the coma ward. But it's here, it's getting in."

"Which window are you?"

"What, sorry?"

"Which window?"

"That one!" Angel shouted on the other end, "First floor, left, fourth from the end."

"Yeah," Amy replied.

Just then Zero broke through, the three 'women' walking in, "Oh, dear. Little Amelia Pond. I've watched you grow up. 12 years, and you never even knew I was there. Little Amelia Pond, waiting for her magic Doctor to return, but not this time, Amelia," the mother opened her mouth to reveal the teeth when Amy's phone beeped.

She opened it to see 'Duck!' and heard the wail of a siren from outside before she pushed Rory to the ground as a ladder from the fire engine broke through the window. The Doctor climbed in and joined them, "Right!" he grinned, hopping off, "Hello! Am I late?"

"No," Angel shook her head, following him in, "Three minutes to go."

He nodded, "So still time."

"Time for what, Time Lords?" Zero looked at them.

"Take the disguise off. They'll find you in a heartbeat. Nobody dies."

"The Atraxi will kill me this time. If I am to die, let there be fire."

"Ok. You came to this world by opening a crack in space and time. Do it again, just leave."

Angel frowned, "She didn't open the crack, did you?"

"No," Zero said.

"Somebody did," the Doctor argued.

"The cracks in the skin of the Universe. Don't you know where they came from?" she tilted her head, the girls with her, "You don't, do you?" she looked between them, "Either of you?" she grinned, speaking in her daughter's voice, "The Doctor and the Angel in the TARDIS don't know," she sang, "Don't know, don't know!" and then her voice returned to normal, "The Universe is cracked. The Pandorica will open. Silence will fall."

Angel took a step back with a wince as images flashing in her mind...

… _the Doctor turned around to look at a large crack in the back of a ship above a locked door_ …

… _a stone box sat in a dark room with green glowing etchings carved into it in circular patterns_ …

… _a pale creature with a large head and no mouth dressed in a black suit reached out, electricity around it_ …

Angel pressed her hands to her head, feeling it start to throb. This had happened before, she knew, such a long time ago, in the hospital with Martha, she'd heard 'burn with me' and then heard it again on the ship with the killer sun. She knew what this had to mean, the events...they were a long way off. But...she got the feeling that what she'd just seen, were a VERY long way off, farther than she'd seen between the hospital and the ship, much farther.

She swallowed hard as she looked up, slowly lowering her hands, oh she didn't like this. She didn't like it at all, bad things _always_ happened when she stepped foot in a hospital. The Doctor always said she was his good luck charm...but she really believed it to be the opposite when hospitals were involved, she was NEVER lucky when it came to them. First with Albion Hospital, with Jamie, then New Earth, and Cassandra, then Royal Hope Hospital, the Judoon trying to suffocate everyone, and now this? She probably should have stayed outside with the fire engine, that way, the Doctor's plan was sure to go smoothly.

Now though...she could only guess that something was going to go wrong. That was just her luck in a hospital...

There was a clicking sound, pulling her out of her thoughts.

The Doctor looked up at the wall behind Zero, "And we're off! Look at that," he pointed at it, "Look at that!" the clock now read 0:00, "Yeah, I know, just a clock, whatever. But do you know what's happening right now? In one little bedroom, my team are working. Jeff and the world. And do you know what they're doing? They're spreading the word all over the world, quantum fast. The word is out. And do you know what the word is? The word is _zero_. Now, me, if I was up in the sky in a battleship, monitoring all Earth communications, I'd take that as a hint. And if I had a whole battle fleet surrounding the planet, I'd be able track a simple old computer virus to its source in, what, under a minute?" he pulled the mobile from his pocket, "The source, by the way, is right here," a bright light flared through the windows, "Oh! And I think they just found us!"

"The Atraxi are limited," Zero stated as the Atraxi started searching their floor of the hospital, "While I'm in this form, they'll still be unable to detect me. They've tracked a phone, not _me_."

"Yeah, but this is the good bit. I mean, this is my _favorite_ bit. Do you know what this phone is full of? Pictures of _you_. Every form you've learned to take, right here. Oh, and being uploaded about now. And the final score is, no TARDIS, no screwdriver, two minutes to spare!" he spread his arms, "Who da man?" there was silence, "Oh, I'm never saying that again! Fine."

"Then I shall take a new form."

"Oh, stop it, you know you can't. Takes _months_ to form that kind of psychic link."

"And I've had _years_ ," her form glowed and…

"Amy!" Angel whirled around, catching Amy just before she fell, laying her gently to the floor as the Doctor rushed over.

"No!" he knelt down, "Amy?" he put a hand to her face, "You've got to hold on. Amy! Don't sleep! You've got to stay awake, please."

"Doctor?" Rory looked up at Zero.

He turned to see Zero looking just like him, "Well, that's rubbish. Who's that supposed to be?"

"That's you," Angel whispered.

"Me?" he turned to her, "Is _that_ what I look like?" she nodded.

"You don't know?" Rory asked, confused as to how someone could not know what they looked like.

"Busy day," he stood, "Why me, though?" he faced Zero, "You're linked with _her_. Why are you copying _me_?"

"I'm not," Zero stated, stepping out from behind the Doctor...as little Amelia, "Poor Amy Pond. Still such a child inside. Dreaming of the magic Doctor she knows will return to save her. What a disappointment you've been."

"No," Angel called, looking at Zero with a frown even as she held Amy's hand so the girl wouldn't be scared, "That's not it...she's not dreaming about you because of that, she's..." she looked at Amy and back at the Doctor, "I think she can _hear_ you!"

The Doctor ran back to Amy, "Amy, don't just hear me, _listen_. Remember the room, the room in your house you couldn't see? Remember you went inside. I tried to stop, but you did. You went in the room. You went inside. Amy…dream about what you saw."

"No!" Zero screeched, "No...no!" it glowed, transforming into the eel-like creature once more.

"Well done, Prisoner Zero," the Doctor turned to it, "A perfect impersonation of yourself."

"Prisoner Zero is located," the Atraxi stated, shining the light in, trapping it in the beam, "Prisoner Zero is restrained."

"Silence, Doctor," it spat, "Silence will fall," and it slowly faded away.

There was a blast of air outside as the ship left, the Doctor running to the window a moment, looking out, before dialing on the mobile.

"The sun, it's back to normal, right?" Rory looked between the Doctor and Angel, "That's…that's good, yeah? That means it's over," Angel nodded, knowing that sometimes humans just needed some sort of answer to feel reassured, as Amy slowly woke up, "Amy? Are you ok? Are you with us?"

"What happened?" she groaned.

"He did it. The Doctor did it."

"No, I didn't," the Doctor shook his head.

"What are you doing?" Rory asked, eyeing him with the phone.

"Tracking the signal back. Sorry, in advance."

"About what?"

"The bill," he held the phone to his ear, "Oi, I didn't say you could go! Article 57 of the Shadow Proclamation. This is a fully established, level 5 planet, and you were going to _burn_ it? What? Did you think no one was watching? You lot. Back here. Now!" he tossed the phone to Rory and grinned, "Ok, _now_ I've done it," he turned and strode out of the room.

Angel sighed and got up going after him, this new him was very big on striding out of places with no warning wasn't he?

Amy quickly got up to follow them, Rory rushing after her calling, "Did he just bring them back? Did he just save the world from aliens and then bring all the aliens back again?"

The Doctor walked down the corridor, the trio following, "Where are you going?" Amy shook her head.

"The roof," the Doctor said, "No, hang on," he turned and entered a room, a changing room, sifting through the clothes lying there, tossing away what he didn't like.

"What's in here?"

"I'm saving the world," the Doctor remarked, "I need a decent shirt. To hell with the raggedy. Time to put on a show!"

"You just summoned aliens back to Earth," Rory said, "Actual aliens," the Doctor pulled off his old clothes, "Deadly aliens, aliens of death, and now you're taking your clothes off...Amy, he's taking his clothes off."

Amy just smirked, clearly enjoying watching him do so.

"Turn your back if it embarrasses you," the Doctor shrugged.

"Are you stealing clothes now? Those clothes belong to people, you know," he sighed and turned around, looking over at Amy, "Are you not you going to turn your back?"

"Nope," she grinned.

Angel laughed, walking over to the girl and turning her around, linking her arm through the ginger's to keep her facing the wall.

Rory shot Angel a relieved smile, having felt more than a little awkward with his girlfriend watching another man undress...but then he frowned, noticing something, "Angel what happened?" he turned, gently taking her arm. She was standing between her and Amy, Amy to her left with him on her right, and he could see a red cut on her arm, it was quite small, more like a scrape than anything, but still...it looked like it stung.

"What?" she looked over, and down at her arm, "Oh..." she blinked, she hadn't even really noticed, "It's fine Rory, it's just a scratch..."

Rory shook his head though, his finger gently tracing the area around the cut but not on it, "Come on," he tugged her to the door, Angel taking Amy with her as her arm was still linked with hers, "There's a first aid kit on the wall I can clean it with."

"Rory really, it'll be fine," she had to smile though at his concern, he was SO a nurse...

And then she blinked, a thought striking her.

Rory, RORY, the NURSE.

Oh Lord! Oh, oh, oh, she started beaming! She knew it! She just KNEW it! She'd always felt, more and more surely, that her next companion would be a man, a nurse, with an R name...RORY! Oh she was _buzzing_ , oh that was _excellent_! She knew the Doctor had plans of asking Amy to be his companion, how brilliant would that be if Rory was _hers_?! They could take both humans with them! Rory and Amy, in the TARDIS, together, oh that would be wonderful!

So pleased was she in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed that Rory had succeeded in pulling her out of the room with Amy and was already working on dabbing at her scratch with a small bandage. So excited was she...that she hadn't even noticed _the Doctor_ hadn't noticed she was _hurt_.

~8~

The Doctor walked out onto the roof of the hospital, now wearing a long-sleeved pink shirt, brown trousers with braces, and a number of ties of different styles draped around his neck. He made his way over to the Atraxi ship, Amy and Rory standing back a bit while Angel stood between the two groups off to the side a bit.

"So this was a good idea, was it?" Amy hissed, "They were _leaving_."

"Leaving is good," the Doctor replied, "Never coming back is better. Come on, then! The Doctor will see you now."

The eye popped out of the ship to hover before them and scanned the Doctor, "You are not of this world."

"No, neither is Angel," he pointed back to her as she was scanned as well, "But we've put a lot of work into it," he examined a tie and turned back to show them it, "I don't know. What do you think?"

"Is this world important?"

"Important?" he turned back to the eye, "What's that mean, important?" he threw the tie over his shoulder and Rory caught it, "6 billion people live here, is that important? Here's a better question. Is this world a threat to the Atraxi?" he threw another tie back, towards Amy, "Well, come on. You're monitoring the whole planet. Is this world a threat?" he paused, looking down at the last two ties hanging around his neck, one a long, average tie, and the other a bowtie.

He stared at the tie, an itching in his mind...

~oOo~

_"Y_ _ou have to promise me something."_

_"Anything," he said automatically._

_She shook her head, amused, "Whenever you regenerate next, and it had better be a good long while from now," she added, making him laugh, "Swear that you'll keep the tie," she reached out and gently started to tug it out of his suit._

_"Ok," he nodded, though he was frowning in an adorably cute/confused way, "Can I ask why?"_

_She smiled, "Imagine how hard it would be to do this with a bowtie," she quipped, pulling him down gently by said tie to kiss him deeply, feeling him smiling in return into the kiss, pulling her closer as he wound his arms around her, deepening the kiss even more._

~oOo~

Before he shook his head at the...something...whatever it was...it had gone too quickly for him to really grasp what it was that had struck him about the tie. He frowned down at it, unable to help but feel like...like he'd made a promise about the tie...before he shrugged and tossed the long tie back to Rory as well, going with the bowtie.

Angel, who had been watching him curiously, frowned, shifting a bit...she could admit that ties, real ties, just didn't seem to fit the new him, they really didn't, so she couldn't blame him for tossing it away in favor of the bowtie but...it was like there was something more to it...like...the _tie_ didn't _fit_ him, but like it was more than _just_ a tie...

The Atraxi created a projection of the Earth with scenes from history, "No."

"Are the peoples of this world guilty of any crime by the laws of the Atraxi?" he added.

"No."

"Ok. One more. Just one. Is this world protected? Because you're not the first lot to come here," as he spoke the projection showed the Cybermen, the Daleks, the Racnoss, Ood, Sycorax, a Sontaran, a Sea Devil, Reapers, the Hath, the Vashta Nerada in spacesuits, and more, "Oh, there have been so many! And what you've got to ask is...what happened to them?"

The projection shifted to his first incarnation as he turned away from it to take a tweed coat from Rory, flipping through all of them as Angel smiled at them, right to his tenth...

When he walked through it, "Hello. I'm the Doctor. Basically...run!"

The Atraxi flew back to the ship and raced off as Amy laughed.

The Doctor felt something in his pocket and reached in, pulling out the TARDIS key glowing. He looked over to Angel who smiled and they took off.

"Is that it?" Amy kept her gaze on the sky, "Is that them gone for good? Who were they?" she looked around to see the Doctor and Angel were nowhere to be seen.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel ran out the front of the hospital and across the lawn, Angel leading the way, right back to Amy's. They ran into her back garden to see the TARDIS looking blue as ever with a small St. John's Hospital sticker on the door beside the white instruction panel.

The Doctor beamed, "Ok! What have you got for us this time?" he opened the doors and looked around, amazed, "Look at you!" he breathed, "Oh, you sexy thing! Look at you!"

Angel laughed, stepping in and looking around at the glass floor around the console, the grilling gone, and an upper and lower walkway, stairs leading off to the hallways instead of a gantry, "Oh you're just beautiful," Angel smiled, lightly stroking the rotor as the TARDIS hummed...

But her smile fell when she heard the sound, it didn't sound...happy...but more...resigned and sorrowful, like it was regretting something about to happen. Her frown deepened when the Doctor moved to touch a lever and the TARDIS sparked at him, making him snap his hand away.

He winced, "Sorry about the mess," he called to the box, thinking it was lingering irritation on the TARDIS's part over the destruction his regeneration had caused.

"Come on girl," Angel patted the console, "Let's see what you've got!"

The Doctor nodded, pointing at her, and they ran around the console, powering the box up, disappearing...

~8~

...just as Amy and Rory ran back to the yard.

Amy closed her eyes, remembering that time years ago when she was little and waiting for the TARDIS, hearing the wheezing fade and smiled.

~8~

Amy woke up one night, hearing the TARDIS returning and jumped out of bed. She ran to the window, looking out to see the box back in her garden and grabbed her dressing gown. She ran out of the house, in her gown and slippers to see the Doctor and Angel standing outside the TARDIS, though Angel was a few feet away from it, looking at the flowers growing in the garden.

"Sorry about running off earlier," the Doctor said, "Brand new TARDIS, bit exciting. Just had a quick hop to the moon and back to run her in. She's ready for the big stuff now."

"It's you," Amy breathed, "You came back."

"Course we came back. We always come back. Something wrong with that?"

"And you kept the clothes."

"Well, I just saved the world, the whole planet, for about the millionth time, no charge. Yeah, shoot me! I kept the clothes."

"Including the bowtie."

"Yeah, it's cool. Bowties are cool."

Angel laughed as she saw him tweak his bowtie, she was sad to see the tie go, she really was, but, she supposed, she _could_ admit that the bowtie _did_ suit him...

"Are you from another planet?" Amy looked at him closely.

"Yeah," he smiled, "Angel is too."

Amy nodded, "So are you and her like…"

"No!" the Doctor shouted, flustered, as Angel froze, "No, we're not. NO. Just friends."

"Ok..." Amy eyed him oddly at his sudden outburst, not seeming to notice Angel look at him in confusion.

"So what do you think?"

"Of what?"

"Other planets. Want to check some out?"

"What does that mean?"

"It means...well, it means...come with us."

"Where?"

"Wherever you like."

"All that stuff, the hospital, the spaceships, Prisoner Zero..."

"Oh, don't worry. That's just the beginning. There's loads more."

"Yeah, but those things, amazing things, all that stuff..." she suddenly scowled, "That was _two years_ ago!"

"Oh, oh! Oops."

"Yeah."

"I told you," Angel said, her voice quiet as she stepped closer, her gaze on the Doctor, frowning in concern, "It only need a quarter turn this time."

"So that's..." the Doctor winced.

"14 years!" Amy shouted.

"14 years since fish custard. Amy Pond, the girl who waited, you've waited long enough."

"When I was a kid, you said there was a swimming pool and a library, and the swimming pool was IN the library."

"Yeah. Not sure where it's got to now. It'll turn up. So...coming?"

"No!"

"You wanted to come 14 years ago."

"I grew up."

"Don't worry. We'll soon fix that," he snapped his fingers and the TARDIS door slowly opened, bathing Amy in a warm orange glow as she entered slowly, looking around, while the Doctor walked over to the console.

Angel cast a glance at Amy before walking over to the Doctor, really, _really_ needing to talk to him.

"Doctor…" Angel began quietly, "Is something wrong?"

"What do you mean?" he looked up at her.

"You said we were _friends_."

"Yeah?"

"…is that it?" she started to tremble a bit, a rather large pit forming in her stomach.

"Yeah?"

"But…I'm your _Mate_."

"Yeah, of course you are," he smiled, "We're mates, good friends. Why?" he laughed a bit...though his laughter soon died out when he saw the look on her face, like her world had just fallen apart in the most devastating way, and he couldn't, for the life of him, figure out what he could have said that was so bad as to get a reaction like that from her, Angel was always smiling and she loved all her friends dearly, "What's wrong?"

Angel just stared at him a moment longer, taking a peek into his mind, not that he even seemed to notice it, before she blinked and looked away, oh God... _no_...this _couldn't_ be happening...

"Nothing…" she shook her head, looking down, her voice breaking, trying _desperately_ to keep the tears that had filled her eyes from falling at what she saw in his mind. She swallowed hard, "Can…can you pilot the TARDIS for a bit, I just…I want to go..." she winced, shaking her head again at the words, no, she needed a better excuse to leave, to get out of there, she couldn't...she couldn't stand there and...she took a breath, throwing out the first thing she could think of, "Check on my room…make sure it's still there."

"Sure," he nodded slowly, worried about her, "Of course I can," he hoped his room was still standing too, "Go on!" she nodded and slowly walked off and out of the room. He watched her go, a little concerned but turned to Amy when Angel had disappeared around a corner to the halls, "Well...anything you want to say? Any passing remarks? I've heard them all."

"I'm in my nightie," Amy blinked.

"Oh, don't worry. Plenty of clothes in the wardrobe. And possibly a swimming pool. So...all of time and space, everything that ever happened or ever will..." he smiled up at the rotor, "Where do you want to start?"

"You are so sure that I'm coming," Amy smirked at him, making her way to the console.

"Yeah, I am."

"Why?"

"'Cos you're the Scottish girl in the English village, and I know how that feels."

"Oh, do you?"

"All these years living here most of your life...and you've still got that accent. Yeah, you're coming."

"Can you get me back for tomorrow morning?"

"It's a _time machine_. I can get you back five minutes ago," he patted the console, and it sparked...making him pull his hand away, "Or Angel can, yes, she definitely can," he muttered, frowning at the box, though he was sure it was just that HIS regeneration had damaged the old box, that had to be why it wasn't angry at Angel at the moment, "Why, what's tomorrow?"

"Nothing. Nothing. Just...you know, stuff."

"Alright, then. Back in time for 'stuff,'" he looked over as a new sonic extended from the console's surface, "Oh! A new one!" he tested it, seeing the green light on the end, "Lovely," he patted the console tentatively, relieved when it didn't spark, "Thanks, dear."

The TARDIS just hummed, sounding almost like the box was trying to tell him he'd only gotten a sonic with great reluctance on the box's part. He shrugged, he was never really good at understanding the TARDIS, he'd have to ask Angel what the box was humming about later.

"Why me?" Amy shook her head.

"Why not?"

"No, seriously. You are asking me to run away with you in the middle of the night. It's a fair question. Why me?"

"Me and Angel," he reminded her, "And I don't know. Fun. Do I have to have a reason?"

"People always have a reason."

"Do I look like people?"

"Yes."

"Angel and I've been knocking around on our own for a while, our choice, but I've started talking far too much, I think it's giving her an earache."

"You're lonely?" Amy eyed him, "That's it? Just that?"

"Just that. Promise," he brought up the monitor, seeing a line on it that looked like the crack in Amy's wall.

"Ok."

He turned the monitor off, "So, are you ok, then? 'Cos this place, sometimes it can make people feel a bit...you know."

"I'm fine. It's just...there's a whole world in here, just like you said. It's all true. I thought...well, I started to think that maybe you were just like a madman with a box."

"Amy Pond, there's something you'd better understand. It's important, and one day your life may depend on it. I am definitely a madman with a box. Ha ha! Yeah," she laughed, "Goodbye, Leadworth. Hello, everything!" he hit a button and the TARDIS dematerialized, both of them holding onto the console with a cheer.

~8~

Angel slid down the door of her room as it shut behind her as she felt the TARDIS take off. It was not the room she had shared with the Doctor ever since he'd asked her to be his Mate oh so long ago. She shook her head and curled in on herself, her hearts breaking as a sob burst out of her. She understood now, why the TARDIS had been so sad, had hummed so sadly, when she'd told the box to remove her room, when she'd believed she wouldn't need it anymore. The room was the same, _exactly_ the same, the TARDIS had archived it instead of deleting it, because...she knew...the box had known that it _would_ be needed again.

She stared at the ceiling, letting her head fall back against the door, banging it quite hard really but unable to truly feel it, she just felt...numb. Completely numb. And cold. _That_ was why the TARDIS had been trying to keep her back, keep her close. She and the TARDIS shared a special bond, she'd always had a bond with every TARDIS she'd been around, but THIS one...this one was special. She knew the old box was fond of her, she could always feel it, the box loved her as much as she did the old girl. All the sparking around the Doctor, the trying to throw him out, the pained humming to keep her back...the TARDIS knew what had happened to the Doctor. The box had clearly been angry with him, was _still_ angry with him, but had been trying to protect HER from it, from this...heartsbreak she was feeling.

It hadn't worked. Because she'd run off after the Doctor, unable to leave him with Zero on the loose and the other aliens about to destroy the planet. He'd needed help, and so she'd gone after him. And she'd had to experience the new him.

The Doctor had been acting odd during the entire adventure and, at first, she'd just assumed it was him adjusting to a new set of characteristics, a new personality or that it was his head feeling a bit weird from getting whacked with a bat…but it was _more_ than that and it had started _long_ before Amy had hit him. It was the way he treated her, running off without her, not holding her hand, how he'd barely even glanced at her, like he was ignoring her just a little, cut her off at times and not even with kisses...and the way he _looked_ at her when he did notice her, like the sparkle she'd always seen in his eyes was just... _missing_ …

And then what she'd seen in his mind...or what she _hadn't_ seen...it _tore her apart_.

She never _ever_ thought it would be this bad though. She never _ever_ thought this would happen, not ever. She winced, that was a lie...in a way she'd known it was coming, some part of her had seen it. She felt like she couldn't breathe, her hearts aching painfully...the _exact same feeling_ , only so many times worse, as when she'd woken up after she and the Doctor had finished the Mating process. And she knew...THIS was what her dream she couldn't remember had been about.

She dropped her head onto her knees and wept, because there was little else she could do. She _should have_ known, she should have _realized_ , he'd said it himself, the _first_ thing he'd said to her as his new self and the _worst_ part was he didn't even seem to _realize_...but that was just it, wasn't it?

He'd regenerated…

And he'd forgotten that they were Mated.

He'd forgotten her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before I say anything else and before you entirely and completely freak out, PLEASE (at some point either now or after you read the A/N but before possibly reviewing) check this out, I swear it just might blow your minds...and make you REALLY truly freak the freak out...if you think your hearts and minds can handle it...look at Hearts to Hearts, chapter 11, The Shakespeare Code: All the World's a Stage, just after the Doctor remarks that Lilith's naming won't work on him. I'm really hoping you all are like, '...what? -goes to check- ...OMG! O.O -vein twitches in head- What? What?! WHAT! -dies-' How's that for a prophecy? }:D
> 
> (and now one really quick note before I talk about this chapter. The next chapter will be the Meanwhile Mini-sode, there will be events in it that will reference the twist and the Doctor and his reaction to it that might be worth a read, the Doctor is...interesting...when Angel isn't there by his side...)
> 
> Now, we can move onto this chapter...if you're still alive after the TSC moment that is...
> 
> Those last three words killed me to type.
> 
> Poor, poor Angel to go from SO happy she found Rory to this. You all thought he forgot the TARDIS was crashing, didn't you? Always more to it with me }:) But I'm sorry to say, it'll only get worse for her }:D It's a rather big twist, very sudden, probably the only one I'll pull with no lead up to it, however I wanted it to be jarring and to try my hand at writing a twist that I could explain retroactively :) Angel's stuck with this life-changing thing, and now she has to work out what happened and why it happened and if she can do anything about it (and she will try all she can, but really? She said it right to his face and well, we saw what happened). There will be quite a few theories on her part but none of them will come close to the real truth :) And we will find out very soon specifically what the Doctor remembers and doesn't.
> 
> This will also explain how badly 11 piloted the TARDIS (to me, worse than his past selves in never ending up where he wanted to go), she's THAT cross with him that things just keep getting messed up, but there will still be reasons behind the trips she takes them to. And...I can say there's more to the TARDIS's anger in trying to throw the Doctor out at the beginning, but it'll be a while before we find out what that is.
> 
> I can promise you now, we'll see more of the Doctor's views on this semi-(yet very specific as you'll find)-amnesia, how he sees his life/past, if he notices he's forgotten something (like Angel fears he hasn't), his reactions around Angel (around her with other men or River). I can promise that the Mating is still there, Angel can still hear him and feel him, but something is just...keeping him from doing the same it appears (he didn't hear her calling him before). And I can say there will be little things popping up with the Doctor that he won't understand (because he doesn't remember) but we'll have to wait and see what they are (he won't be completely unfeeling of Angel). 
> 
> I CAN promise that the ~oOo~ (I'm sure you guessed are snippets of things he's forgotten) will be in every single actual episode of DW (maybe even in the mini-sodes) where he doesn't remember Angel's his Mate (sometimes more than one of them, but I won't say how many episodes that will be). I feel I should say, he remembers who Angel is, but NOT who she is to him as Angel implied just now, what that means for everything he felt for Angel we'll have to see. That will be seen in later chapters as Angel works it out. We'll see more and more of the Doctor just...knowing and feeling something's wrong...but as for whether he'll remember or not...well...
> 
> The Uber-Moffat has just been pulled }:)
> 
> And there are plenty more to come, probably not as uber-Moffat-like as this one though ;)
> 
> And now, since I know I will likely be hunted down for this...I have one last thing to say, just one thing...BYE! -runs for dear life-


	4. Meanwhile in the TARDIS: Where's Angel?

Amy stared up at the console room, still in awe, she knew, right then they were probably flying through space. Oh God, she was flying through space and time in a spaceship that looked like…

"Why's it a phone box?" she asked the Doctor as he puttered around the console.

The Doctor, who had been glancing at the stairs Angel had disappeared to, popped up and looked back at her, "Sorry what?"

He was distracted, yes, obviously, but...he couldn't help it. Angel had said she was just going to check her room out, it shouldn't have taken this long though. He'd talked with Amy, started up the TARDIS, and even gotten the old box into the Vortex (though the box seemed to do so begrudgingly) and Angel _still_ wasn't back yet. Surely her room couldn't be in that much of a state…

And she'd seemed rather upset too...and that... _bothered_ him. It was like...when he'd seen the tears in her eyes, when his mind made the connection that _he_ might have said something that put them there, his hearts just...tugged. It... _hurt_...to see her that upset and it bothered him more than he thought it probably should have to not know what was upsetting her. Angel was always so happy and smiling, tears and frowns didn't suit her, not at all, and he'd felt...this odd desire to say something, _anything_ , to make her smile again. But...he hadn't known what he could possibly say.

And even THAT bothered him.

He couldn't shake the feeling like he _should_ know what to say, like he should know _exactly_ what to say, but he didn't know why he felt that. Angel was the one that always seemed to know just what to say to cheer up others or reassure them. She always did that, it seemed, without even trying, she was just...a big ball of sunshine and...happiness and...compassion and...and...

"On the outside," Amy turned to him, startling him out of his thoughts when she moved into his line of vision as it had turned back to the stairs once more, "It said police box, why have you labeled a _time machine_ police box, why not time machine? Is that too obvious? And what _is_ a police box? Do police men come in in boxes? How many do you get? Are _you_ a police man?" she shook her head as he looked at her, "No, look at your hair. Actually," she eyed him, "Just LOOK at your _hair_! Do you ever look at your hair and think 'whoa…it just won't stop? And my chin!'" she put her hands on her own chin, feeling it, "'Look I'm wearing a bowtie, shoot me now?' Am I gabbling?"

He gave a soft laugh, "A bit, yeah."

"The question stands," she remarked as he went back to the controls.

"The first question?"

"Yes."

"Well it's not _really_ a police box," he told her, looking up at her, but then glancing at the stairs, "Which, by the way, is a special kind of telephone box that police men used to use."

"Right, telephone box," she nodded, turning away from him, only to spin back around, "There's a light on the top, do you need to change the bulb?"

"Amy," he smiled, taking her hands, "Stop. Breath…"

Amy took a deep breath, looking like she was struggling _not_ to talk again, but just _had_ to ask, "Why doesn't the air get out? It is made of wood? Oh…you've got a wooden time machine," she looked around, "Do you feel stupid?" she turned to him as he blinked, looking offended, "Sorry, back on the bowtie," she gestured at it, grimacing at it.

The Doctor glanced over at the stairs again, really hoping Angel would come back soon, she was much better at talking about TARDISes than he was, but, as she wasn't there, he'd have to do his best, so he turned back to Amy, "It's camouflage. It's disguised as a police telephone box from 1963. Every time the TARDIS materializes in a new location within the first _nanosecond_ of landing it analyzes its surroundings, calculates a 12-dimensional data map of everything within a thousand mile radius, and determines which outer shell would blend in best with the environment…" he smiled, seeing the awe in Amy's eyes, along with a little bit of confusion, Angel really _should_ have been the one to explain all that, she could always seem to get things through to the humans in a simpler way, which was actually rather odd as the TARDIS was one of the most complex machines in the history of the Universe.

"And then it disguises itself as a police telephone box from 1963," he finished.

"Oh," Amy's smile faded into a frown, "Why?"

"It's probably a bit of a fault actually. I've been meaning to have Angel check..."

"What, it's a police box every time?"

"Yeah, I suppose, now you mention," he laughed a bit, "Angel noticed that the first time she saw the box, the psychic…"

"How long's it been doing that?"

"Oh…not long…Angel should have it...fixed in...no time..."

~oOo~

_"Four TARDIS keys, four pieces of the TARDIS with low-level perception properties because the TARDIS is designed to blend in," he explained, "Well, sort of..."_

_"I offered to fix it," Angel reminded him lightly, nudging him, "But I must admit, I DO love the phone box look," she smiled, "And the blue."_

_He smiled back at her, "I can tell," he looked down at Angel's TARDIS blue jeans._

_"Her face is up there Doc!" Jack laughed, pointing up, seeing the his gaze lingering a bit too long on Angel's legs, despite them being covered._

_"Right!" his head jerked up, "Yes, sorry..." Jack and Martha laughed at his sputterings as Angel smiled, "Where were we again?"_

~oOo~

Amy eyed him as he seemed to get a bit lost in thought, having brought up Angel _again_ in the span of seconds, and had to ask the question that was really getting to her, the one that quite a lot seemed to rest on, "Are you _sure_ you and Angel aren't…"

"No!" he said quickly, shaking his head as he turned to her, his hearts thumping painfully in his chest for some reason at his exclamation, "No, mates," he winced at the word, "Well, _friends_ , just friends the two of us," he smiled, nodding, yes, they were friends, just...just friends...yes, right, yes.

Amy nodded slowly, not too sure why he was so _insistent_ of that, it was almost like...well, it was almost like he was trying to convince _himself_ of that along with her, "Ok," she held up her hands in surrender, before spotting the windows, the circular windows around the room, "But what about the windows? There are windows on the outside but where do they go? Is it a cry for help?"

"What?"

"The bowtie!" she pointed at it.

"Bowties are cool."

"And you're an alien," she breathed, staring at him, "You and Angel."

"Yeah! Well, in your terms yeah, in MY terms," he poked her in the forehead, "YOU'RE an alien. In quite a few people's terms probably."

"What kind of alien?"

"Well, you know, a nice one," he remarked, turning back to the console, seriously what was keeping Angel? Perhaps he should go check on her? He shook his head, Angel knew the TARDIS better than anyone, she'd be fine, "Definitely one of the nice ones."

"So you're like a uh, space…" she poked his shoulder, testing him, "Squid? Or something? Are you like a tiny little slug in a human suit?" the Doctor rolled his eyes at her and moved around the console, warily tapping some of the controls before he touched them, making sure they wouldn't spark at him, "Is that why you walk like that?" she asked, following him.

"Amy!" he turned to her, "This is me. This," he grabbed her hands and slapped them to his cheeks, holding them there, "Is what I _really_ look like."

"Well that's fine then!" she slapped his cheeks.

"Ow!" he winced, before turning back to the console, "Good."

Angel _really_ needed to get back there, soon, she would have been able to tell him Amy was about to do that. It stung!

"Ok," Amy took another breath, "Ok, I think I'm done there…" she laughed.

"Amy Pond," the Doctor smiled, pleased with that, as he moved to pull a lever, struggling a bit as the box seemed to fight him on it, before he won and pulled it down, "We've barely started," and another, "'Cos…" he turned and ran for the doors, Amy close behind him, "Do you know what I keep in here?" he stopped right in front of them, his back to them.

"What?" she breathed.

"Absolutely everything," he pulled them open and stepped aside for her to see they were floating in space, "Anything fit your fancy?"

Amy slowly stepped to the doors, looking out, wide eyed, before spinning to him, "We're in space…"

"No," he nodded out the doors, "THAT's space."

"But it _can't_ be."

"But it is."

"But it's like…it's like…it's like," she glanced out and back at him, "Special effects?"

"Like _what_?" he laughed.

"It is isn't it? It's not _real_."

"Get out."

"What?" she frowned.

"No, seriously," he shoved her out the door, "Get out!" and reached out to grab her ankle, casting a quick glance over his shoulder at the stairs, hoping Angel would be there soon, Amy was amusing.

* * *

I know we don’t see Angel in this mini-sode, this is more a representation of what’s happening behind-the-scenes while the Doctor and Amy talk. The crack isn’t in her room in the story, no worries, it’s also a representation of the story arch for the series :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter helped relieve you just a tiny bit about the Doctor. It really was just the fact he'd regenerated and was facing a danger in 20 minutes that had gotten him so...unnoticing of Angel. Now that he's settled a bit, we'll be seeing quite a bit more of him and his thoughts/feelings/noticings of Angel. As we see here, he really, really notices when she's not there, which is a bit of a good sign right? ;) I can say that I know this twist may not make sense at the moment, but there is a justified reason behind why the Doctor has forgotten things and that all will be explained eventually :) I suppose now we see another meaning in the title :)
> 
> I have a lot planned for this series and I can say that the next episode will see three things: another semi-level of Angel's abilities develop, we'll learn specifically what the Doctor has forgotten (what Angel saw/didn't see in his mind), and it will end with Angel possibly doing something...drastic...good or bad drastic I won't say }:)
> 
> On that note of what's coming for the series, time for my Pyramid! Just to refresh, my 'pyramid' is the 3 episodes I'm super-excited about because I think something happens in them that is important to Angel's story. The 2, is my most looked forward to 2-parter episode either because something happens in it or it's just my favorite episodes lol. And the 1 is the episode that I liked least and probably struggled with so if it's really bad, that's why. *But I do have to say, in this case, most of these episodes will be the ones I feel have the most emotion/possible angst to watch out for.* So here it is:
> 
> 3...Cold Blood (a bit obvious lol), Vincent and the Doctor, Vampires of Venice  
> 2...The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone  
> 1...Victory of the Daleks (I wasn't a fan of the episode, BUT! there will be a moment at the end that got to me)
> 
> And just to end...Lilith's prophecy from The Shakespeare Code, 'Your heart grows cold I do foretell, you'll forget all about your beloved Angel' }:)


	5. The Beast Below: Above

A spaceship with what looked like a city on it flew through the stars, a Union Flag painted on its side. It was like a glass dome sealed around the city, keeping the air in and the inhabitants protected. Inside one of the buildings that made up the city a group of young boys and girls stood in a line against the wall of a schoolroom while a single young boy remained at his desk, dejected, knowing what would come for him if he joined the line now.

"Well done, Mabel," a computerized voice praised the children in the line, making its way along the row, "Well done, Alfie. Good girl, Tabitha," one of the girls in a red sweater turned to the boy, catching his gaze as he just sat there, and jerked her head, insistent and even a little bit afraid for him, "Very well done, Ranjit. Good girl, Chloe," the boy sighed and picked his book up, moving to join the line, seemingly just in time, "Well done, Ben. Well done, Mandy," Mandy, the girl in the red sweater, hurried off as the last boy stood before a smiling figure in a booth, looking very much like a clown of some sort, "Bad boy, Timmy," the head of the figure spun to reveal a frowning face, looking much less pleasant than the smiling clown that it had once been, actually seeming a bit sinister, "Zero."

The boy sighed and hung his head, heading out of the room and into the hall where the girl in the red sweater, Mandy, was waiting for him.

"You got a zero, didn't you?" Mandy asked as he joined her outside the classroom, the two of them continuing to walk down the hall.

"Yeah. So?"

"You'll have to walk home, then."

"Walk to London? That's 20 decks!"

"You can't ride a Vator with a zero. You know what happens. You'll get sent below," she stepped into the lift at the end of the hall, past a tall black man, the Vator guard. Timmy tried to get in the lift but the guard, the hooded black man wearing an old fashioned clock key on a chain, glared at him and he backed away, frightened, "I'll wait for you."

The lift door closed and Timmy sighed, watching as another booth in the hall with a figure in it's head swiveled to a frown as well. He shifted a bit, he hated the things in the booths, they always made him feel like he was being watched, well, they all were, but the figures just made him feel more so, and he was just a kid, why did HE have to be watched? What could he possibly do that he'd need to be watched for?

Just then a second lift opened and Timmy grinned, rushing inside, if just to escape the figure in the booth outside...only to realize there was a smaller version of the booth set into the wall, "Welcome to Vator Verse, sponsored by McLintock's Candy Burgers," a computerized voice said.

"L…London, please," he stuttered, nervous, Mandy was right, the Vators were dangerous to ride if you'd gotten a low mark on your exams, but...he didn't want to walk the 20 decks...there were figures and booths all along the way.

A small computer screen on the wall appeared and a young girl recited a verse, "A horse and a man, above, below, one has a plan, but both must go. Mile after mile, above, beneath, one has a smile, and one has teeth," the figure in the booth swiveled to show Timmy its frown, "Though the man above might say hello, expect no love from the beast below."

And then the lift began to plummet.

"Help!" Timmy pounded on the microphone screen, clinging to the walls as he tried to hold on, afraid the Vator might have broken down, that he was about to fall to his death, "Help me!"

But then, just like that, the lift stopped at Floor 000 and the doors slid open to reveal a bright red light. Timmy screamed as the figure's head swiveled to reveal a third face, grimacing in anger...

~8~

_"My name is Amy Pond. When I was seven, I had two imaginary friends. Last night was the night before my wedding...and my imaginary friends came back."_

~8~

Amy, still in her nightie and dressing gown, was floating outside the open doors of the TARDIS, the Doctor holding her ankle to keep her from drifting off into space. He smiled, "Come on, Pond," and brought her back inside, "NOW do you believe me?"

"Ok, your box is a spaceship," she beamed as she was set back on the floor, "It's really, _really_ a spaceship. We are in space! Woo! What are we breathing?"

"Angel showed me how to extend the air shell, we're fine," he assured her before seeing something below and crouching down, "Now, _that's_ interesting," she looked down as well to see them flying over a spaceship with a city on it, like a snow globe without the snow just...floating among the stars, "29th Century. Solar flares roast the Earth," he headed back over to the console, "And the entire Human Race packs its bags," he fiddled with a few controls, frowning as the monitor stayed on static and white noise, "And moves out till the weather improves," he bashed the top of the monitor with his fist, "Whole nations..."

"Doctor?" Amy gave a small shout.

"...migrating to the stars..." he winced as he tried to hit a button and it sparked, making him shake out his hand, that really hurt!

He pouted at the box, he really should have Angel take a look at the controls or something, perhaps his regeneration had fried a wire? Or maybe she just needed a firm talking to. Not that the box would listen to him, it seemed the TARDIS was rather cross with him still. Angel was probably the only one the box would listen to, though, thinking on it, Angel was probably the only one the box ever listened to.

"Doctor?"

"Isn't that amazing?" he had to grin though when the screen flickered on finally.

"Doctor!"

He looked up to see Amy wasn't there and walked over to find her holding onto the roof of the TARDIS, having fallen out the open doors when she'd tried to get a closer look at the city below, "Well, come on. I've found us a spaceship," he grabbed her hand and pulled her in, "Can you go get Angel for me?" he asked her, "Just take those stairs there and follow the hall till you come to her room, the TARDIS will lead you."

He would have gone himself but...he just couldn't shake the feeling that she was upset with him, that he'd upset her just before and...he wasn't sure if she'd want to speak to him at the moment if he really had upset her that badly. He paused in his walk back to the console, a hand resting on the center of his chest as it tightened, making him feel like he couldn't breathe for a moment...but it was gone relatively quickly. He shrugged and continued on, moving around the console, probably just a lingering effect of the regeneration. It had only just barely been about 15 hours since he'd regenerated, the cycle should be winding down, everything settling. Finally! He'd be able to see what sort of man this new new new him was!

He hoped it was someone Angel liked.

He blinked, stopping again halfway towards reaching for a lever, his gaze pulled towards the stairs once more. He frowned, where had that come from? Well, he supposed...Angel had been with him for quite a while...he...he wouldn't want to be the sort of man she wouldn't like and wouldn't want to be around. For some reason, that thought, the thought of her not liking him and leaving...scared him. Hurt him. Pained him really. He swallowed and shook his head, Angel had seemed to like the new new new him well enough before, she'd been worried about him, helped him save the world, seemed like she enjoyed the adventure.

He had to sigh, he felt quite bad that he'd sort of ignored her a bit. He was aware he'd done it, but he was just so excited to see who he was and learn the new things about himself, it seemed the new him found everything amusing and interesting and he was just so full of life and...it was weird though. How...odd it was. He remembered being his last two selves, how...brooding and guilt-ridden they were. And yes, he still felt guilty about the War, about what he'd done, but...it was like...it didn't rule his life anymore. It was like, he could do things because he wanted to and not to try and make up for what he'd done. He liked helping people, it was why he was the Doctor, like Angel was the Angel...

He shook his head, Angel was nice, yes, and she'd been with him through quite a lot. She was the last Time Lady and he just...after everything they'd endured, he didn't want to lose her now. Yes that was it, the last of their kind needed to stick together eh? But he couldn't help but look to the side, feeling like there was something... _more_ to that thought...but what...

"Yeah, of course," Amy nodded, cutting into his thoughts as she headed for the stairs, him watching her go a moment before shaking his head and getting to work trying to pilot the box down to the ship...well, as best he could when the controls sparked against him half the time. He really needed to get Angel to see what was wrong with the box, his fingers were starting to hurt...

He looked up when the TARDIS hummed and, while he wasn't the best at interpreting the different hums, nowhere near as good as Angel was, it almost sounded like...a deserving hum, like the box was telling him he deserved it. He rolled his eyes, "I said I was sorry for the mess!"

Amy shook her head, listening to the man talking to the machine as she headed out of the room and up the stairs. She walked through the hall till she came to a dead end. She looked around not seeing any other doors and frowned, feeling lost and not quite sure exactly how this hall led to Angel if there was nothing around, "Umm…I'm looking for Angel's room please?" she called out, not exactly sure who to.

She heard a whoosh and looked to her left to see a door was now there, an old, dark wood, door with golden circles and spheres painted on it in what seemed like it might be another language. She frowned, pushing the door open to see it was a bedroom, a more masculine looking room than what she expected for Angel. But she only caught a glimpse of it when the door slammed shut with such force that she stumbled back and hit the wall behind her, "What was THAT for?" she huffed at the box, before scoffing, "Now I'M talking to it."

She shook her head and pushed herself off the wall, only to stop, seeing that the dark wood door was gone. She walked over to the wall and felt it, tapping on it and trying to listen through it, as though she could determine where it had gone by doing so...until she caught sight of something in the corner of her eye. She turned around to see another door had appeared there, across the hall from where the first door had been. It was made of a lighter wood with dark gold symbols etched into it in paint that seemed to shimmer golden in the light of the halls. She turned and was about to try the handle for that door, wondering if it would be just another empty room...when she heard something.

She paused, putting her ear to the door, hearing what sounded like...like someone _crying_ within. And as far as she knew there were only three people on that ship, two had been in the console room.

She knocked lightly, "Angel?" she called and the crying stopped abruptly, "Is that you?"

"Yeah," Angel called, though Amy could _swear_ her voice cracked.

"Are you ok?" she frowned, concerned.

She admitted, as a child, she'd noticed the Doctor much more than Angel. The girl had been quiet, very nice, very reassuring, but not quite as...exciting or...or thrilling as the Doctor had been. He'd been so mad and funny and energetic and...daring...where Angel had been calm and seemed more amused by what was happening in a silent, observant way. The Doctor had rambled on and on about all sorts of things, he was so brilliant, and he had that funny metal wand, the sonic, and he'd dressed so funny, and he was...handsome. Even as a seven year old she could admit the man was hot. Funny, but hot. She'd blamed her new best friend Mels for getting her thinking like that. Angel had been...nice...but nowhere near as amazing, to her mind, as the Doctor was.

And now she felt a bit...bad about it. She'd spent all that time focused on the Doctor and running after him and doing as he said and arguing and challenging him and just...awed by him...she hadn't really noticed Angel. And something was clearly upsetting her and well, she could tell even as a child that the Doctor was more than a bit oblivious. She might be quite the character herself, but...Angel _had_ been there for her as a child too and she had helped save the world, somehow, she was sure. So thinking she might be crying and sad and no one noticed made her feel...guilty.

There was no response through the door and it had been quite a few moments since her thoughts got away from her. So she reached out to knock again when the door opened.

Angel stood there, her eyes not red, her cheeks not stained, seeming as though she hadn't been crying at all, "Of course I am," she smiled.

And _that's_ what did it for Amy, because that smile…it was a sad one. It was one you used when you were trying to hide how sad you were, when you weren't quite able to make yourself smile for real, like when your imaginary friends ran off again after 12 years of waiting. It was the smile you used when you were trying not to worry someone else.

"You sure?" she asked the Time Lady, eyeing her closely.

"Yeah," Angel nodded, stepping out of the room, the door shutting behind her, "So what's the Doctor found for us this time?"

"Some spaceship," she replied.

Angel took a breath, as though steeling herself for something, "Well, let's go shall we?"

She had no idea what was going on with the Doctor, she was upset and hurt and just...confused. But...this was Amy's _first_ trip, her first official adventure and...she didn't want to be the thing that ruined it. She didn't want to be the thing that brought it down. So she'd smile, she'd go out there, and she'd see what happened, what it offered and she'd try her best to stay focused and seem happy. For now, she had to push her concerns to the back of her mind till it was over and she could think about it.

She didn't want to ruin this for Amy.

So she'd try.

~8~

The Doctor smiled as he saw Amy and Angel enter the console room, not that he was watching the stairs. He wasn't, he was just...at an angle and position where they were in his line of sight...behind him.

He felt a bit better to see Angel didn't seem upset any longer, her room must have been in top form then. Which was good. He was sure his room was probably a wreck, and if it wasn't, the TARDIS would probably wreck it for him the box seemed that cross with him. Or hide it from him. Or delete it. He really should ask Angel to speak to the box...

"Brilliant, alright then?" he looked at them, as they nodded, and so he moved to turn the monitor to them...only for the screen to cut to static again. He sighed, grumbling to himself as he tried to bring the picture up again.

Angel looked at the rotor, the tiniest of smiles on her face, she knew what the box was doing, expressing her own anger at what was going on, and shook her head, promising herself she'd talk to the TARDIS about this later. She was touched that the box was so concerned for her that it kept having a go at the Doctor, but...it really wouldn't do if the box stayed so angry as to do that all the time. If they were ever in danger which, knowing the Doctor's luck, was very likely to happen, she needed to know that the old girl would work for him, would help him and not fight him. She...she didn't want him to get hurt no matter what might happen, he would always be the Doctor, he would always be that incredible man and...it still hurt her to think of him ever getting hurt.

"Let me Doctor," Angel reached out to the monitor, the Doctor stepping back as she...pressed a single button and the image came back.

He hung his head, shaking it, now more sure than ever that the box _had_ to be cross with him about his regeneration, "Thanks," he told her, moving to bring up a feed from the spaceship for them to look at, "This is the United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland, all of it, bolted together and floating in the sky. Starship UK. It's Britain, but metal. That's not just a ship, that's an idea. That's a whole country, living and laughing and...shopping," Amy chuckled as Angel cracked a small smile, seeing the feed move to a market area, "Searching the stars for a new home."

Angel smiled at them, they...gave her hope really. To see them surviving against all odds, "The indomitable humans."

The Doctor looked over at her for that...

~oOo~

_"End of the Universe and here you are," he laughed, "Indomitable! That's the word! Indomitable! Ha!"_

_"Is there a Kistane Shafekane?" Creet shouted._

_"That's me," a woman stood at the end of the hall before gasping at the sight of Padra._

_"Told you," Angel beamed at Padra._

_"Mother?" Padra called, his gaze on the woman._

_"Oh my God!" Kistane gasped._

_"Beltone?" Padra ran to them, hugging his mother and brother close._

_"See?" Angel smiled, watching them, "There's always hope."_

_"Especially with you around," he whispered in her ear as he pulled her back against his chest, his arms around her waist, kissing the back of her head._

~oOo~

"Can we go out and see?" Amy turned to them, pulling his attention to her, she was practically buzzing with excitement to go and have her first trip!

"Course we can but first, there's a thing," the Doctor warned her.

"A thing?"

"An important thing. In fact, thing one..."

"The Doctor lies?" Angel frowned, that was rule one, not quite the most important rule, which was don't wander off, but the first rule nevertheless. She absently flicked a switch, unable to help wondering if...if that rule applied to her still. Would the Doctor notice if she wandered off? He hadn't seemed to notice her at all when the Atraxi had been around...

"No, well, yes, well, _rule_ one," he corrected, before spinning to Amy, "Rule two, just so you know, Angel doesn't lie."

Amy nodded, that actually sort of made sense, they had rather different personalities, "What're the rest of the rules? Is that it or is there like a rule three?"

"Rule three, I don't lie to Angel," the Doctor said.

Angel looked at him, surprised. That was...not something she had expected him to remember, especially because it was...

"You can never fool a psychic," he whispered to Amy conspiratorially, "They can tell when you're lying."

Angel closed her eyes a moment, feeling her hearts starting to break just a little bit more. She shouldn't have done that, she shouldn't have gotten her hopes up, she _shouldn't_ have...of course THAT would be the reason this him would have for it. She swallowed hard and looked away, looking back at the monitor, just watching the different feeds flicker through.

The Doctor moved around the console, looking at Amy through a magnifying glass, "We are observers only. That's the one rule I've always stuck to in my travels. I never get involved in the affairs of other peoples or planets. Oh!" he whirled around between the two of them, behind them, staring at the screen, "That's interesting…" the feed was now playing an image of little Mandy, sitting alone and crying.

Angel's hearts went out to the girl, understanding all too well what that was like, all those people around her were just...walking right by, not even noticing, or not caring.

"So we're like a wildlife documentary, yeah?" Amy looked at Mandy too, "'Cos if they see a wounded little cub or something, they can't just save it, they've got to keep filming and let it die. That's got to be hard. I don't think I could do that. Don't you find that hard, being all, like, detached and cold?" her eyes widened as the Doctor appeared on screen beside Mandy before the girl ran away from the floppy-haired stranger, "Doctor?"

The Doctor grinned at the camera and waved for them to join him.

"I should have seen that coming," Angel remarked as she slowly walked towards the doors, Amy following, "That's probably the one rule he _never_ follows," she told the ginger, "Especially when children are upset."

"So...you're really psychic then?" Amy had to ask. They had mentioned it a few times now, but she'd thought they were joking.

"A bit, yeah," she sighed, "I can't always see everything though."

Amy eyed her at that last remark, it sounded...sad and even...a bit bitter...which was really unlike the Angel she'd remembered as a child and from stopping Zero.

"Are you sure you're ok?" she had to ask, something just...bothering her about seeing Angel look so sad. She felt like the girl should be all smiles and laughter.

Angel took a breath, "Yeah," she said quickly, opening the doors to the TARDIS, she was fine at the moment, she was alive, she was healthy, she wasn't physically wounded...by one definition, yes, she was fine.

"Welcome to London Market," a voice said over a speaker as they stepped out of the box, "You are being monitored."

Amy looked around, all her concerns for Angel forgotten as she stared in awe at the world around her, seeing stars through a glass ceiling above them before looking at the market, a series of stalls and booths, similar to a contemporary market though just a bit more advanced, "I'm in the future," Amy murmured, "Like hundreds...of years in the future. I've been dead for centuries."

"Oh, lovely," the Doctor walked over to them, "You're a cheery one," he took her by the arm and walked off, Angel following along behind them, slower than they were as she kept glancing back over her shoulder, feeling like she was being watched, "Never mind dead, look at this place. Isn't it _wrong_?"

"What's wrong?"

"Use your eyes, notice everything. What's wrong with this picture?"

"Is it...the bicycles?" she jumped to the side a bit as one went by, "Bit unusual on a spaceship, bicycles."

"Says the girl in the nightie."

"Oh, my God! I'm in my nightie."

"Now, come on, look around you. Actually _look_."

Angel looked down, her arms crossed before her, frowning, before she glanced at the Doctor to see he'd been watching her and smirked at her, nodding, seeing she might have just figured it out. But she knew, she could see in his mind still, what she thought and what he thought were two different things. He was thinking of the engine vibrations, how there weren't any, how they couldn't feel them. _She_ was thinking of how she could have _sworn_ she'd heard something crying from below. Not a human noise, no not that, not some _one_ but...something was in _pain_ , something was hurt and in _so much_ _pain_...

"London Market is a crime-free zone," the voice on the speaker stated.

"Life on a giant starship, back to basics," the Doctor continued, turning to walk again, "Bicycles, washing lines, windup street lamps. But look closer. Secrets and shadows, lives led in fear. Society bent out of shape, on the brink of collapse. A police state. Excuse me," he ran over to a table and picked up a glass of water from one of the people sitting there. He gently placed it on the floor and looked at a long moment before setting it back on the table, "Sorry. Checking all the water in this area. There's an escaped fish," he tapped the side of his nose and walked back over to them, "Where was I?"

"Why did you just do that with the water?" Amy eyed him.

"Don't know. I think a lot. It's hard to keep track. Now, police state, do you see it yet?"

"Where?"

"There," Angel pointed, her gaze on Mandy as the girl sat alone, crying on a bench. Everyone was walking past her, ignoring her, as they walked over. Angel glanced back as the Doctor led Amy closer, spotting a black man in a hood with an clock-key on a chain around his neck, watching them. But a group of people walked past and he was gone.

~8~

A phone rang in an office and a person, watching the trio on a monitor, answered, "Are you sure?" the man asked, gray-haired with glasses.

"Saw it myself," another man replied, "It's them. Are you going to tell her?"

"We're under orders to tell her. Well done. Keep tabs on them," he hung up and dialed the phone once more.

~8~

In a grand palatial room, a woman sat alone, a red cloak around her, a simple white mask on the floor at her side. She picked up the phone as it rang, "Sorry to interrupt," the gray-haired man spoke, "There's been a sighting. London block, Oxford Street. A man and a woman."

"Did they do their things?" she asked.

"Apparently."

"I'll have a look on the monitors," she picked up her mask and stood, walking past a number of water glasses, if he did the water glass trick and she saw they were being followed...then it was them.

And help had come at last.

~8~

The trio was sitting on a bench a short distance away from Mandy's, watching her, "One little girl crying?" Amy frowned, "So?"

"Crying _silently_ ," the Doctor emphasized, "I mean, children cry 'cos they want attention, 'cos they're hurt or afraid. When...

"When you cry silently Amy," Angel cut in gently, her gaze on Mandy, "It means you just...can't stop. Because it just hurts that badly."

Amy and the Doctor looked at her at that remark, to see she had small stirrings of tears in her eyes as she just looked at Mandy with...empathy. The Doctor had to look away a moment, shaking his head as something...flashed through him.

For just one moment he'd had this...mad desire to...to shove Amy aside as the ginger was sitting between them, and just...pull Angel into his arms, hold her close and gently touch her cheek, have her look into his eyes and ask her what was wrong, find out what had hurt her that badly and just...tear it to pieces. He shifted uncomfortably at that, it was such an...extreme reaction and he really had no idea where it had come from. It was perfectly natural to be upset when you saw someone else upset, but to be that dramatic...well...it just...it didn't make sense.

"Angel..." Amy began softly.

Angel blinked and looked over at them, as though just realizing what she'd said, what she'd admitted without actually saying, and offered a tense smile, "Everyone knows that," she offered as an excuse, feeble though it was, she just...she couldn't have them ask her what was wrong, not again, one more time and she might...they couldn't ask again because she'd break entirely if she had to say it, if she had to say it out loud what had happened. In her mind, it could just be a fear, if she said it...then it was real, and it couldn't be real, it just...couldn't be, "Especially parents."

"Are you a parent?"

"Aunt," she murmured, looking back at Mandy, "Look at all these people Amy, they're all walking right past her, they see her crying, but they aren't doing anything about it. They don't ask her why she's upset," she shrugged, "It's because they know why she's crying already. They just...don't talk about it," she shifted, almost like...almost like she could feel it, "They're scared to."

"Secrets," the Doctor nodded, knowing Angel's natural intuitiveness had picked up on that, "They're not helping her, so it's something they're afraid of. Shadows, whatever they're afraid of, it's nowhere to be seen, which means it's everywhere. Police state."

Mandy got up when the lift bell rang and a clown-like figure in a nearby booth's head turned to watch her go, Angel watching it intently.

"Where'd she go?" Amy tried to follow her with her eyes.

"Deck 207, Apple Sesame block, Dwelling 54A," the Doctor replied, "You're looking for Mandy Tanner. Oh," he fished around in his bigger-on-the-inside pockets, "This fell out of her pocket when I accidentally bumped into her," he handed over the girl's ID wallet to her, "Took me four goes."

"Ask her the clown things over there," Angel nodded towards the booths that kept giving her a bad feeling before she glanced around, "They're all over the place."

"But they're just things," Amy remarked.

"They're clean," the Doctor agreed, "Everything else here is battered and filthy, look at this place. But no one's laid a finger on those booths. Not a footprint within two feet of them. Ask Mandy, 'Why are people scared of the things in the booths?'"

"No. Hang on, what do I do?" she whispered, "I don't know what I'm doing here and I'm not even dressed!"

"It's this or Leadworth. What do you think? Let's see. What will Amy Pond choose? Ha ha, don't need to be Angel to know what it'll be eh? Gotcha!" he looked at his watch, "Meet back here in half an hour."

"What are you going to do?"

"What I always do," he stood, "Stay out of trouble."

"Badly," Angel added, standing up as well with a sigh, "Let's go."

The Doctor looked at her, "You can go back to the TARDIS if you want, or just wander."

That sigh just then...he felt his hearts tug at it, it almost sounded like...like maybe she didn't want to go with him. And that really hurt, that really really hurt for some reason. But he shook his head, it might just be because Angel usually always got excited to go with the companions to watch out for them. Yes, that had to be it.

"No," Angel shook her head, "I'm going with you. Someone has to be there to at least TRY to keep you out of trouble."

In all honesty, she really just wanted to go back to her room and sleep, pray to every deity in the Universe that this was just a terrible nightmare and that she'd wake up to see the Doctor, not even his last self but just HIM, there, smiling at her and say he loved her and give her a kiss. But she couldn't, she couldn't do that because...she'd dreamt this would happen somehow, so long ago, and now she was scared.

What would she dream of next?

She swallowed, no, she had to go with the Doctor, she wanted to...even though she knew it might break her hearts all the more to go with him, to be around him acting like he was, but she just...couldn't bring herself to go with Amy. She could tell that...Amy would be ok in the end, she'd be fine, maybe get into a bit of a tight spot but ultimately she'd be ok. But the Doctor...even if she could feel like he'd be ok too...she just...she had to be there. She couldn't leave him even now, maybe...maybe some time alone with her without a deadly alien after them might...help? They'd spent so long just the two of them before he'd regenerated, perhaps he just needed some semi-calm time to...to remember?

And...if she was being completely honest with herself, Amy...unsettled her. She'd seen how focused the girl had been on the Doctor, how, even with her boyfriend right beside her, she tried to play it off as just being friends around the Doctor, how she'd been willing to watch him strip and...Amy unnerved her.

Because...if the Doctor didn't remember they were Mated...

Would he stop Amy's advances?

She felt so guilty, actually trying to keep the two apart, because Amy _was_ his companion now and she had to trust that, even if he didn't remember the Mating that there was something still in him that would push Amy away if she tried something. But...she couldn't help it. It was just...she didn't know what to do. It upset her so badly that Amy was clearly interested in the Doctor and that she couldn't even tell Amy to step back because...the Doctor wouldn't defend her. He'd already told the girl he was basically available and Amy, at the moment, didn't seem like she'd believe her if she contradicted the Doctor. The girl was smitten with him, she'd believe whatever she could if it meant she had a chance with him.

And it hurt.

The old him, even the old old him, she would trust and believe he'd stay back from things like that. But this him...she couldn't see that far ahead. She truly didn't know what this him would do.

And that scared her.

"I'm really not _that_ bad…" the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Don't argue with a psychic," she said, nudging him on, shaking herself out of her thoughts.

Amy watched the interaction with a small frown, there was something... _more_ to why Angel wanted to go with him. She shook her head, she could worry about that later, "So is this how it works?" she turned to them, watching them go, thinking about what Angel had said in the TARDIS, "You never interfere in the affairs of other peoples or planets, unless there's children crying?"

"Yes," the Doctor replied.

Amy sighed and turned back, looking around, trying to figure out which way to go.

~8~

Amy stumbled down the street, stopping to get her bearings near another booth, thinking she probably should have asked Angel for some sort of direction since she was apparently psychic. She looked around, spotting a way to go and headed down the street, when Mandy stepped out behind her, "You're following me," she called, making Amy spin around, "Saw you watching me at the marketplace."

"You dropped this," Amy held out the ID wallet.

"Yeah, when your friend kept bumping into me," Mandy scoffed and took the wallet back, rolling her eyes at Amy.

"What's that?" Amy asked, pointing to a section of street with curtains around it, clearly closed off.

"There's a hole. We have to go back."

"A what? A hole?"

"Are you stupid? There's a hole in the road. We can't go that way," but Amy just headed to the gate, "There's a travel pipe down by the airlocks, if you've got stamps," and then she noticed where Amy was going, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, don't mind me. Never could resist a 'keep out' sign. What's through there? What's so scary about a hole? Something under the road?" she sat down on the ground and examined the lock.

"Nobody knows," Mandy looked at a booth off to the side, shifting nervously, "We're not supposed to talk about it."

Amy looked back at her, "About what?"

"Below."

"And because you're not supposed to, you don't? Watch and learn," she pulled a pin from her hair and used it to pick at the lock.

"You sound Scottish."

"I am Scottish. What's wrong with that? Scotland's got to be here somewhere."

"No. They wanted their own ship."

"Hmm. Good for them. Nothing changes."

"So...how did you get here?" Mandy crossed her arms, watching Amy, not noticing the figure in the booth spin its face to a frowning one.

"Oh, just passing through, you know, with a guy and a friend."

"Your boyfriend?"

"Oh," Amy blinked in realization.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just...I'm getting married. Funny how things slip your mind."

"Married?"

"Yeah, shut up, married. Really, actually married. Almost definitely."

"When?"

"Well, it's kind of weird. A long time ago, tomorrow morning. I wonder what I did," the lock opened, "Hey, hey, results! Coming?"

"No!"

"Suit yourself."

Amy stepped into the tent when Mandy spotted the figure spinning to its third face, its angry one, "Stop! You mustn't do that!"

Amy just stepped into the dark tent with red emergency lights flashing. She found a torch and turned it on, shining the beam of light to see a creature swinging slowly through the hole in the ground, like a large tentacle, "Oh, my God. That's weird. That's..."

The creatures suddenly struck at her and she scooted back out of the tent. She stopped to find herself surrounded by hooded men wearing clock-key charms. One sprayed a gas from his ring at her and she fell back on the street, unconscious.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're going to find out in the very next chapter exactly what the Doctor's forgotten :) Here's a question though...does the Doctor actually recall those ~oOo~ moments? Does he see them/remember them? Or are they too quick to notice? Are they things he doesn't have time to grasp? Do they fade before he can understand them? I think it's a mix of all that :) I feel so bad for Angel though, she's nearly falling apart and yet trying to put on a brave front and not ruin this moment for Amy. I feel like, even being wary around the ginger, she'd still not want her first trip to be a misery because of her :( That's so Angel to not want people to worry :) And, I suppose, she probably has no idea how to explain why she's upset to the Doctor either... :(


	6. The Beast Below: Between

The Doctor and Angel made their way down the maintenance ladder, Angel going first not only because of her dress, but due to the fact that she wasn't quite as coordinated as she had once been and she didn't want to fall on him. It had hurt quite a bit to hear him laugh and nod and go along with it instead of saying something sweet like...it wouldn't matter if she fell, he'd always catch her. But he'd just turned around and opened a hatch for her to start climbing down so she'd had little time to think on that. And it seemed she'd been right to go first, getting to the bottom she'd stumbled a little bit, losing her balance for a moment. As much as it pained her to think...she really would rather she stumble into nothing than to have stumbled into the Doctor. She...she couldn't imagine what it would be like to be in his arms for even a moment and have it not be in some sort of loving embrace.

And so, while the Doctor quickly moved to place his hands on the wall, leaning in to listen to it, Angel stood with her arms crossed, looking around with a frown.

"Can't be," he muttered, pulling her attention to him, not that it ever really strayed far from him in the first place. He soniced the wall, getting a reading as Angel turned and looked behind them, swearing she heard the crying noise again, before he noticed a glass of water on the floor. He moved to lay down to stare at it.

"The impossible truth in a glass of water," a woman in a red cloak and white mask spoke quietly, stepping forwards out of the shadows as Angel spun around to face her, a bit startled, not many people could sneak up on her, though she had to admit she was quite a bit distracted at the moment, most certainly not on top of her game, "Not many people see it," the Doctor got up, "But you do, don't you, Doctor? And you as well Angel?"

"You know us?" the Doctor eyed her, taking a step forward, Angel eyeing him closely as he seemed to almost move a bit in front of her, as though protecting her, something so similar to what the last him had done but...again, she saw it in his mind, he just wanted a closer look at their mystery speaker.

"Keep your voice down! They're everywhere. Tell me what you see in the glass."

"Who says we see anything?"

"Don't waste time. At the marketplace, you placed a glass of water on the floor, looked at it, then came straight here to the engine room. Why?"

"No engine vibration on deck. Ship this size, engine this big, you'd feel it. The water would move. So...I thought I'd take a look," he opened a power box on the wall, to reveal wires just hanging there, "It doesn't make sense. These power couplings, they're not connected. Look. Look, they're dummies, see?" he crossed the hall and rapped on the wall, "And behind this wall, nothing. It's hollow. If I didn't know better, I'd say there was..."

"No engine at all."

"But it's _working_. This ship is travelling though space. I saw it."

"The impossible truth, Doctor. We're travelling among the stars in a spaceship that could never fly."

"How?"

Angel looked down a sad frown on her face, feeling her hearts tug as she definitely heard the crying noise now. She closed her eyes, couldn't they hear it? Couldn't anyone hear the screams of agony? How could they not feel the pain? The closer she and the Doctor got to the bottom of the ship the stronger it felt, like...it was so strong she HAD to feel it. But why couldn't anyone else? How could they not know? How could they not hear it?!

It was heartsbreaking.

"I don't know," the woman sighed, "There's a darkness at the heart of this nation that needs to be cast into the light. It threatens every one of us. Help us, Doctor. You and Angel are our only hope."

"Who are you?"

"I am Liz 10."

Suddenly Angel gasped, looking up, her eyes snapping open as another flash of something raced through her, "Amy!" and took off down the hall.

The Doctor hesitated to follow, casting one more look at the woman before rushing after her.

~8~

Amy woke up to find herself sitting in a chair, locked in a little room. There were no windows, one door, probably locked if she'd been just left there, with a light hanging from above her. To her left was one of the figures in a booth with four monitors in front of her, stacked two on two and fashioned very much like retro televisions. She winced sitting up more, rubbing her head and grimacing, tasting the horrible smell of the gas that had been used on her in her mouth. Urg.

"Welcome to voting cubicle 330C," a computerized voice said, startling her as the monitors flashed on to static, "Please leave this installation as you would wish to find it," she stood up and looked around, trying to see if there might be any way for her to get out of there besides the door, "The United Kingdom recognizes the right to know of all its citizens," and then she noticed there were three large buttons on the edge of the table in front of her where the monitors were set up, 'Protest,' 'Record,' and 'Forget,' "A presentation concerning the history of Starship UK will begin shortly. Your identity is being verified on our electoral roll," she sat down with a huff, maybe if she voted or whatever she'd be allowed to leave after, "'Name, Amelia Jessica Pond. Age, 1,306."

Amy gasped, "Shut up!" she laughed, oh that was weird.

"Marital status..." she straightened up, serious now, even...curious, "Unknown."

She sighed and flopped back into the chair, well that was a load of help. She rubbed her head, honestly not sure which status she would have preferred. If she was married well...she assumed that it meant the Doctor had dropped her off back home and...left her. And that was bad. She didn't want to go home, she didn't, not now, not after having spent _so many years_ dreaming about this moment, this chance to travel with him. If it was single...then...she started to smile, then it meant she was still with the Doctor, she might have never had to go home again. Maybe it meant she spent the rest of her life with the Doctor, maybe...maybe it meant, after spending so long with him, that they were...

She blushed, her thoughts getting away from her. Single could have just as easily meant that she just...hadn't gotten married. But...then again...married could also mean...well...the Doctor. She smiled again, she and her best friend Mels had had _so_ many talks about him, both of them claiming they'd marry him in the future. Well, SHE claimed dibs though, SHE knew the Doctor first, so there.

She looked back over as the four screens started up again, this time with an image instead of static and a voice. An older man appeared, presenting information, "You are here because you want to know the truth about this starship, and I am talking to you because you're entitled to know. When this presentation has finished, you will have a choice. You may either protest...or forget. If you choose to protest, understand this. If just 1 percent of the population of this ship do likewise, the program will be discontinued, with consequences for you all. If you choose to accept the situation, and we hope that you will, then press the 'forget' button. All the information I am about to give you will be erased from your memory. You will continue to enjoy the safety and amenities of Starship UK, unburdened by the knowledge of what has been done to save you. Here, then, is the truth about Starship UK, and the price that has been paid for the safety of the British people. May God have mercy on our souls."

Images flashed across the screens, reflected in Amy's eyes as the devastating truth was shown to her...

She gasped, reaching quickly and hitting 'Forget.'

Amy blinked, wiping a tear from her eye, confused as to why she was crying, why did she feel upset, there was nothing to be upset about. Well, yeah, she'd gotten attacked and knocked out, but that wasn't so bad. She hadn't been killed or chained up or tortured or anything...but then a video message started on the screens...of herself.

"This isn't a trick," the recording said, her crying, clearly very _very_ upset and disturbed by something, "You've got to find the Doctor and get him and Angel back to the TARDIS. Don't let him investigate. Stop him. Do whatever you have to. Just please, please get the Doctor _off this ship_!"

The door to the room slid opened and she gasped, turning to see Mandy standing there. The message started to replay just as the Doctor stepped in the doorway, Angel behind him, having led the man right to Amy's voting booth, his sonic out, clearly having been the one to get the door opened.

"Amy?" Angel asked as she watched the ginger woman shut off the message, "What happened?" she walked in and right to Amy, hugging her, seeing the tears in her eyes.

She knew what it was like to be upset, to be hurt or afraid and have no one to comfort you. No matter what, she would _not_ see the Doctor's companion like that. She hugged Amy tightly, feeling the ginger girl shaking as she clung to her, alarmed.

The Doctor, despite knowing he should get in there and see what had happened, couldn't help but smile at the moment, shaking his head fondly at Angel, the girl was more a miracle than her name portrayed her to be, his miracle.

He blinked, straightening a moment at the thought, frowning, bewildered as to where it had come from. Angel wasn't his, well, she was his friend, yeah, the last of his people besides him. So, in a way, he supposed it was a miracle she'd survived, that she was there. Yes, _that_ had been what he'd been thinking. Just that. Yes.

~8~

The Doctor stood on the chair, using the sonic on the lamp hanging above it, right over where Amy's head would have been, "Yeah, your basic memory wipe job. Must have erased about 20 minutes," he hopped off it.

"But why would I choose to forget?" Amy shook her head, not liking that. What could possibly have been _so_ terrible that she'd rather forget it than properly warn the Doctor?

"'Cos everyone does," Mandy shrugged, standing in the doorway, hesitant to enter, knowing it was against the rules to be in the booth if you weren't old enough, "Everyone chooses the 'forget' button."

"Did you?" the Doctor looked at her.

"She's 12," Angel called, standing before the booth with the smiling figure in it, before looking over at him.

"I'm not eligible to vote yet," Mandy agreed, "Any time after you're 16, you're allowed to the see the film and make your choice. And then, once every five years..."

"And once every five years, everyone chooses to forget what they've learned," the Doctor muttered, "Democracy in action," he walked over to the monitors as Angel moved closer to them.

"How do you not know about this? Are you Scottish too?"

"Oh, Angel and I are way worse than Scottish," he handed Angel the sonic to hold so he had his hands free to try and jiggle some wires behind the monitors, "We can't even see the movie. Won't play for us."

"It played for me," Amy frowned.

"The computer knows we're not human," Angel remarked, eyeing the sonic a moment, her gaze drifting up to the lamp the Doctor had just been examining and then over to the Doctor. She flashed the sonic, making it look like she was trying to help, trying to pick up something, but stopped when she glanced at the readings, sighing, no sign of any sort of memory wipe job in him. Whatever had happened...it wasn't some sort of wave or memory technology that had done it. She rubbed her head, but what?

Well, she supposed that _had_ been a stretch. The TARDIS would NOT have done that to the Doctor. He hadn't even had the Chameleon Arch helmet on his head, not that he could...the regeneration energy would fry the circuits. It _could_ have explained it, if he were human, that the memories were locked away but...that wasn't it.

"How?" Angel looked at her, "You look human."

"No, you look Time Lord," the Doctor said, "We came first."

"So there are other Time Lords, yeah?" Amy grinned, walking over to where the Doctor was now inspecting the fronts of the monitors.

Angel glanced back over to the booth, staring at the smiling figure inside with a frown, unable to help but feel like there was something more to them.

"No. There were, but there aren't...just us now. Long story. There was a bad day. Bad stuff happened, and you know what? I'd love to forget it all, every last bit of it, but I don't."

Angel closed her eyes, holding back the tears because part of that wasn't true, it had already happened, well rule one in action she supposed, even when he wasn't aware of it.

"Not ever. 'Cos this is what I do, every time, every day, every second. This. Hold tight. We're bringing down the government!" he slammed his hand onto the 'Protest' button and the door slid shut, cutting them off from Mandy outside.

The figure in the booth turned to show its very angry face, Angel backing up, following the Doctor and Amy to the corner of the room as the floor slid open.

"Say, 'Wheee!'" the Doctor cheered.

"Ahh!" Amy screamed and they fell down the tube below them.

~8~

Outside the room, Mandy gasped as a figure in a red cloak and white mask appeared behind her, "It's alright, love," the woman chuckled a bit before removing her mask, "It's only me."

Mandy stared up at her in awe.

~8~

The Doctor, Angel, and Amy fell out of the chute with a scream, into what looked like a flood of rubbish and some sticky, foul-smelling liquid. The Doctor jumped to his feet, using the sonic to try and see where they were and what happened, "High-speed air cannon. Lousy way to travel."

"Where are we?" Amy struggled to get up.

Angel covered her nose, the stench, oh God she thought she was going to be ill...it was _disgusting_ , it was choking her, she was literally gagging on it.

"600 feet down, 20 miles laterally, puts us at the heart of the ship. I'd say..."

"Lancashire," Angel managed to get out, trying to cover her mouth with her arm, her eyes were starting to tear at the smell, her stomach twisting painfully. She loved Lancashire the last time she and the Doctor had been there, oh the people there were lovely, very...sassy. They made her smile. The Doctor had even taken her for some scones and tea in the Lake District on one of their travels after she'd regenerated into her current self.

"What's this, then, a cave?" the Doctor spun around, "Can't be a cave. Looks like a cave."

"It's not a cave," Angel said, her gaze landing on something as she stood, though the Doctor didn't see as he was still spinning around, sonicing the walls.

"It's a rubbish dump, and it's minging!" Amy stood, throwing off a piece of rubbish, Angel grimacing as it splashed, kicking up more of that awful stench! Honestly, how were the Doctor and Amy standing it! It was _terrible_! Oh that poor creature...

"Yes, but only _food_ refuse," the Doctor actually sniffed it, making Angel turn a bit green, she was actually starting to feel really sick now, really light-headed at the smell, "Organic, coming through feeder tubes from all over the ship."

Amy fell back down to her knees as the floor moved and began to feel it, "The floor's all squidgy, like a water bed."

"But feeding what, though?"

"It's sort of rubbery, feel it. Wet and slimy."

"Doctor..." Angel stared down the 'tunnel' hearing in her mind a moaning noise, the pained sound she'd been hearing since stepping off the TARDIS, moments before it sounded out loud, sounding even worse.

The Doctor looked over at the distant noise and stood, his eyes widening as he realized where they were, "Er...it's not a floor, it's a..." slipping the sonic back into his pocket, "So..."

Amy pushed herself up, "It's a what?"

"The next word is kind of the scary word. Take a moment. Get yourself in a calm place," he took her hands, Angel trying her best not to let the flash of pain she'd felt at seeing him take Amy's hands over her own show, "Go 'omm.'"

"Omm."

"It's a tongue."

"A tongue?"

"A tongue!" he said excitedly, "A great big tongue."

"This is a mouth? This whole place is a mouth? We're in a mouth?!"

"Yes, yes, yes, but on the plus side, roomy."

"How do we get out?"

The Doctor whipped out the sonic again, "How big is this beastie? It's gorgeous! Blimey! If this is just the mouth, I'd love to see the stomach," there was a grunting, "Though not right now!"

"Doctor, how do we get out?"

"Ok, it's being fed through surgically implanted feeder tubes, so the normal entrance is..."

"Shut," Angel called. The Doctor spun around to see she had turned around and was staring at a large set of sharp teeth closed before them.

"We can try, though," Amy took a step.

"No!" Angel spun around and reached for her arm, "Stop, don't move!"

"Too late," the Doctor shouted as the mouth began to shake, "It's started."

"What has?" Amy stumbled.

"Swallow reflex."

They slipped and fell back in to the refuse, Angel trying her very best to help Amy balance while not breathing at all, either through her mouth or nose as the smell got worse, the Doctor frantically sonicing the mouth walls.

"What are you doing?" Amy called.

"I'm vibrating the chemo-receptors."

"Chemo-what?"

"The eject button."

"How does a mouth have an eject button?"

"Think about it!"

The creature growled and they managed to get to their feet...only to see a wave of bile, much like Angel felt rising inside herself, coming towards them.

"Right, then," he tweaked his bowtie, "This isn't going to be big on dignity. Geronimo!"

Amy yelled and there was a great grunt and a splash.

~8~

Amy woke up slowly, blinking blearily to see Angel was sitting beside her, watching over her as the Doctor tried to sonic a door at the end of the dimly lit room they were now in.

"You didn't break anything," Angel reassured her as she helped the ginger girl sit up, already knowing what the questions she had would be, "You don't have a concussion but yeah, you're covered in sick, sorry."

"Where are we?" Amy asked.

"The Doctor said it was an overspill pipe," she shrugged.

"Oh, God, it stinks," Amy winced as Angel helped her stand.

"That's not the pipe," Angel told her apologetically, having already tried to wring out her dress as much as possible, not having wanted the stench to linger...but it still did. It was starting to give her a headache and upset her stomach.

"Oh," Amy smelled herself, agreeing with Angel's thoughts on the stench, it really _was_ disgusting, she felt like she was going to be ill...which would likely NOT help the already lingering smell, "Whoo! Can we get out?"

"One door, one door switch, one condition," the Doctor called, moving to the side to show them the 'Forget' button on the door, "We forget everything we saw. Look familiar? That's the carrot," the lights came on to reveal two booths behind them, both with figures in them, smiling at them, "Oh, here's the stick. There's a creature living in the heart of this ship. What's it doing there?" he walked over to the figures as they spun their faces to frown, "No, that's not going to work on me, so come on. Big old beast below decks, and everyone who protests gets shoved down its throat. That how it works?" the faces spun to very angry, "Oh, stop it. I'm not leaving and I'm not forgetting and what are you fellows going to do about it? Stick out your tongues?"

The booths opened and two of the figures actually stepped out and walked towards them, forcing them back.

"Always robots," Angel murmured, though quite a bit afraid, she really, really did NOT have the best experiences with them.

"Doctor?" Amy gasped.

"Duck!" Angel shouted suddenly with a gasp, pulling the Doctor and Amy down as Liz 10 appeared through the door, without the mask, and shot the figures. She spun her pistol on her finger before placing it back in a holster on her leg.

"Look who it is," the Doctor laughed, "You look a lot better without your mask."

"You must be Amy," Liz smiled as the trio stood, "Liz. Liz 10."

"Hi," Amy smiled.

She shook Amy's hand, "Eurgh!" and wiped it off on her cloak, "Lovely hair, Amy. Shame about the sick," and with that, she turned and headed for the door, "You know Mandy, yeah?" she put her arm around Mandy's shoulder as the girl stepped up, "She's very brave."

"Yes she is," Angel smiled at her, no matter what was going on in her life, children would always have a soft spot in it, "Well done Mandy."

Mandy beamed at that.

"How did you find us?" the Doctor wondered.

"Stuck my gizmo on you before you ran off," Liz tossed him a device she'd used to track him, "Been listening in. Nice moves on the hurl escape. So, what's the big fella doing here?"

"You're over 16, you've voted. Whatever this is, you've chosen to forget about it."

"No," Angel shook her head, looking at Liz with a small smile, "She's never voted."

"Not technically a British subject," Liz grinned, "And you are most certainly the Angel."

"Then who and what are you, and how do you know us?" the Doctor asked, tensing a bit, feeling...a flash of protectiveness race through him. The woman was clearly aware of Angel's gifts and if she knew...how did she know and what did that mean? What were her plans for Angel? He would not let her hurt the last Time Lady...

"You're a bit hard to miss, love," she smirked, "Mysterious stranger, MO consistent with higher alien intelligence, hair of an idiot..." the Doctor pointed, about to retort to that, before he just ran his hand through his hair instead, "And the Angel, the gifted psychic, usually pulling you out of trouble," she laughed a bit, "The Doctor and his beloved Mate."

"No," the Doctor shook his head, "No, no, we're not Mates. I mean, we _are_ mates but not MATES, we're friends."

Angel closed her eyes tightly at that, trying to stop the pain that flashed through her. She should have expected this, she really should have. He'd said it himself, vaguely to her in the TARDIS, when she'd mentioned they were Mates and he'd thought she meant friends. Here the implication of Liz 10 was more clear, Mate as in...MATE. And to hear the Doctor deny it so instantly and insistently...

God it would never stop hurting would it?

She should have known he'd say it too. She'd seen it, in his head, exactly what he'd forgotten since, clearly, he _did_ know her. He knew her name, he knew she was a Time Lady, he knew of her abilities, he remembered other things like how he didn't lie to her and so on...but...things _were_ missing. Moments were missing, so many small and probably insignificant moments that just...were _everything_ to her. She'd seen it in his mind in the TARDIS when they'd taken Amy aboard, she'd looked and what she'd seen...what she hadn't seen...devastated her.

It was like every single moment between the two of them was gone. Every moment that wasn't platonic in nature, which was quite a few of them, was just...missing. Every thought he'd had about her, every look he'd given her, every sweet moment, gone. Even moments from before they'd started Mating, which had surprised her, she truly hadn't thought his feelings for her had begun _that_ early, truly almost the moment they met. Any time his old old self had even had a _hint_ of affection towards her that had a chance of being something more had disappeared. Every kiss, every touch, every look, every word...vanished.

And the _worst_ thing was that...he remembered events, just...without her being a large part of it. It was like his mind had already begun the process of compensating for the gaps, filling them by working the memories around them. Like...he remembered that he'd punched the window of Magpie's shop to break in, because he remembered her face had been taken, but he didn't remember the emotion and the drive and the instinct behind it. To him, he just hadn't thought to use the sonic and broken in or convinced himself that he was just in a rush to save the rest of the people from Magpie's plot. There were discussions they had, moments when she had been dying that just...didn't exist any longer in his mind.

And he didn't even realize.

There were entire _gaps_ , not just little things here and there, but whole memories that weren't to be found and he just...didn't notice.

She didn't understand _how_ he didn't notice. How could he look back at the past and not realize there were large chunks missing? But, she supposed, that was so him, wasn't it?

The Doctor was famous for never looking back.

Amy glanced over at Angel, who was looking down as though fighting herself not to react or something, and frowned. She could _swear_ she saw tears in the girl's eyes a moment but then she blinked and they were gone.

Liz, though, looked confused by the Doctor's statement, "But in the stories…"

"Stories?" the Doctor grinned, "What stories? There are stories?"

"I've been brought up on the stories. My whole family was."

"Your family?"

One of the figures jerked, "They're repairing. Doesn't take them long. Let's move," she turned and headed out of the overspill room, the group following her through a corridor, her explaining what she could as they strode away, "The Doctor. Old drinking buddy of Henry XII. And the Angel. Tea and scones with Liz II. Vicky was a bit on the fence about the both of you though, wasn't she? Knighted _and_ exiled you on the same day. And so much for Good Queen Bess once you started talking 'sorcery' around her Doctor!"

"Liz 10?" the Doctor frowned, realizing.

"Liz 10," Angel smiled, pleased she'd worked it out on her own, even a bit before the Doctor had, at least she still had that going for her, at least she was still a bit smarter than her previous selves, at least she could work that out even if she couldn't work out what had happened to the Doctor, "Elizabeth X."

"Down!" Liz shouted as Angel pulled Amy and the Doctor down once more, turning and firing both pistols at three figures that had snuck up behind them, "I'm the bloody Queen, mate. Basically, I rule," she put her guns away and turned, leading them through another corridor where the base of a closed off lift shaft was open, "There's a high-speed Vator through there."

Angel stopped though and looked at the closed off area, where two tentacle-like things were bashing themselves against the bars, staring at them as they seemed to writhe...

... _a pink lump sat in the middle of a whole, a beam of electricity firing down at it every so often_...

'... _and this place down here is where you hurt it, where you torture it, day after day, just to keep it moving_...'

... _the Doctor lifted the sonic and allowed them to hear the creature's agonized and heart wrenching screams_...

'... _and then it came, like a miracle. The last of the Star Whales_...'

Angel closed her eyes a moment, shaking her head in sorrow before she opened them and just...stared at the creature, reaching out for anyone to hear it, to stop the pain, to save it...

"Oh, yeah," Liz glanced over, "There's these things. Any ideas?"

"Doctor, I saw one of these up top," Amy said as they all stopped to look, "There was a hole in the road, like it had burst through, like a root."

"Exactly like a root," the Doctor nodded, "It's all one creature, the same one we were inside, reaching out. It must be growing through the mechanisms of the entire ship."

"What?" Liz shook her head, "Like an infestation?"

"Someone's helping it. Feeding it."

"Feeding my subjects to it. Come on. We've got to keep moving," she stalked off in a rage, Mandy jogging after her.

Angel reached out, through the bars, despite the tentacle things slamming around, "Shh," she soothed, holding up her hand. Amy's eyes widened in surprise as a tentacle slowed in its smacking, as though calming, before tentatively touching the Time Lady's hand.

"Angel?" Amy asked, eyeing her as the woman's eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she breathed to the creature, before pulling her hand away, unable to bear feeling it tensing and twitching beneath her touch, her voice breaking, before walking off after Liz, the Doctor watching her go with concern.

"Is she ok?" Amy looked at the Doctor, worried.

He sighed, "Angel is...sensitive," he remarked, his hearts tugging at the thought of her being upset. He didn't like it, he _really_ didn't, he'd seen the tears in her eyes and it broke his hearts, "It's not just being psychic or intuitive she's just...kind," he looked at Amy, "She doesn't like seeing anyone or anything in pain. We should never have come here."

Amy glanced over at the tentacles as the Doctor moved to join Liz and the others, watching as they resumed slamming, frowning as she saw them stiffen a moment before flailing. She could see it now, the pain in the movements. No wonder Angel was so upset, it was a terrible thing to realize.

~8~

The gray-haired man watched the group on his monitor as they headed for Liz's quarters to clean themselves, "Winder division one," he called into a microphone, "Ten has penetrated to the lower levels. Initiate the protocol. God save the Queen."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we know :( I did mention it was a very specific amnesia. Everything he's ever thought/felt/noticed/said/done for Angel in a romantic/loving way is just...gone. He has no idea he loved her in the past, he knows who she is, but not who she is to him. It semi-explains his confusion when those random desires and pains him him, doesn't it? And now we know something of why he forgot the Mating if he forgot all that too. I wanted to show how erasing key moments can affect the personality. Like...if you fought with your best friend and they wake you up in the middle of the night apologizing, but when you wake up in the morning you don't remember it (being half asleep) or thought it was a dream and treat them coldly. They have no idea why you're doing it.
> 
> At least we saw here Angel trying to work it out what's wrong with him. That'll happen in quite a few episodes until...well...let me just say Rory's departure makes for an utterly devastated Angel who does something that well...I can't even say it. We'll have to see what she does when he 'leaves' :'( I can say that last scene of Cold Blood tore my heart out to do...
> 
> But we've got our first Angel-theory on what happened. Unfortunately she was wrong :( Her next theory might be closer to what some of you have suspected, we'll have to see what it is :)


	7. The Beast Below: Below

The Doctor stepped slowly over quite a collection water glasses gathered and set up on the floor of the Queen's suite, eyeing them, while Angel sat at the edge of the bed, at the foot of it, holding the woman's white mask in her hands, not really doing much with it. She wasn't fiddling with it or inspecting it, just...holding it and looking at it. She'd picked it up, seeming as though it was only so she could sit down where it had been resting, but hadn't put it to the side, which the Doctor knew meant that there was something important about it.

"Why all the glasses?" he wondered, trying to make his way to them without knocking any over, Angel watching him. She had been sure to avoid the water glasses everywhere, given how she was truly surprised she'd managed to stay standing in the creature's mouth given her lack of balance at times. She didn't want to accidently kick one of the glasses and break it.

"To remind me every single day that my government is up to something, and it's my duty to find out what," Liz said, lying back in her bed, her frustration evident in the tone of her voice.

The Doctor watched as Angel went back to looking at the mask, gently tracing the contours of the face, before he walked over to her, the girl handing it to him automatically to look at for himself, "A queen going undercover to investigate her own kingdom?"

"Secrets are being kept from me. I don't have a choice. Ten years I've been at this, my entire reign, and you've achieved more in one afternoon."

"How old were you when you came to the throne?" the Doctor asked as he started to pace, noticing what Angel had about the mask, how old it was. He was getting slow, his head was far too small to fit all the things he knew in it. But he supposed even if it wasn't so crowded in there, Angel still would have noticed before him, she'd always had an affinity with time, guessing what time it was, how long they had, how old something was.

"40. Why?"

"What, you're 50 now?" Amy gaped as she put her hair up, now clean like the rest of them, all thankful they no longer smelled so atrocious, "No way!" she and Mandy sat on the chaise at the foot of the bed.

"I think they slowed her body clock," Angel said, leaning against the bedpost of the four-poster bed. She'd been able to tell the woman was older than she looked, it was like...when she'd seen Jack again. She knew she wasn't aging properly and she knew, given the time, that the only technology available was that sort. She thought. She wasn't sure. She'd...she'd been trying to keep it up, to keep her confidence up, to keep being sure of herself and her guesses and thoughts, but...she glanced at the Doctor, it was harder now.

Liz nodded though, "Keeps me looking like the stamps."

The Doctor sat on the bed beside Angel, though his back was to her as he held the mask up to Liz, "And you always wear this in public?"

"Undercover's not easy when you're me. The autographs, the bunting."

"Air-balanced porcelain. Stays on by itself, 'cos it's perfectly sculpted to your face."

"Yeah. So what?"

"Oh, Liz. So everything."

The doors to the room were suddenly thrown open as four hooded men wearing clock-key necklaces stepped in, Angel recognizing one from the marketplace, the black man she'd seen watching them.

"What are you doing?" Liz cried, furious at the audacity, "How _dare_ you come in here!?"

"Ma'am, you have expressed interest in the interior workings of Starship UK," the black hooded man replied, "You will come with us now."

"Why would I do that?" the man's head turned all the way around to reveal an angry face, like the figures in the booths, and she flinched back, disgusted, "How can they be _Smilers_?"

"Half Smiler, half human," the Doctor remarked, eyeing the man as his face spun back to human.

"Whatever you creatures are, I am still your queen," Liz glared at it, "On whose authority is this done?"

"The highest authority, Ma'am," it told her.

"I AM the highest authority."

"Yes, ma'am," the man nodded, "You must go now, Ma'am."

"Where?"

"The Tower, Ma'am."

~8~

The group was led to a large stone room below deck, farther down than the voting booths had been, containing quite a number of high tech machines. There was a grating on the floor, a round hole in the ground where a pink lump sat, a beam of electricity firing down at it every so often. Angel immediately walked over to it and knelt down.

"Where are we?" Amy eyed the room.

"The lowest point of Starship UK," the Doctor spun to face her, throwing his arms out, "The dungeon."

"Ma'am," the gray-haired man stepped up to the queen.

"Hawthorne!" Liz gasped, "So this is where you hid yourself away. I think you've got some explaining to do."

"There's children down here," the Doctor turned to him, seeing a few wandering, looking near traumatized and silent, Angel watching them go, heartsbroken, they could only imagine the horrors the children had endured, likely having been fed to the creature but spit up, "What's all that about?"

"Protesters and citizens of limited value are fed to the beast," Hawthorne stated, confirming his thoughts, "For some reason, it won't eat the children. You're the first adults it's spared. You're very lucky."

"Yeah, look at us. Torture chamber of the Tower of London. Lucky, lucky, lucky. Except it's not a torture chamber, is it?" he looked at the equipment, "Well, except it is. Except it isn't. Depends on your angle."

He stepped over to Angel by the pink lump, Liz and Amy walking over to look down as well, "What's that?" Liz grimaced at the sight.

"Well, like I say, depends on the angle. It's either the exposed pain center of big fella's brain, being tortured relentlessly..."

Angel flinched, closing her eyes a moment as another beam hit the creature, the screams were so much louder now in her mind, so loud that even the Doctor heard it being so near to it.

"Or?"

"Or it's the gas pedal, the accelerator, Starship UK's go-faster button."

"I don't understand."

"Don't you? Try, go on. The spaceship that could never fly, no vibration on deck. This creature, this poor, trapped, terrified creature. It's not infesting you, it's not invading, it's what you have instead of an engine. And this place down here is where you hurt it, where you torture it, day after day, just to keep it moving," a beam shot down at the brain, "Tell you what," he moved over to another hole and lifted the grate covering it, "Normally, it's above the range of human hearing," one of the tentacles lashed out, writhing, "This is the sound none of you wanted to hear!" he lifted the sonic and allowed them to hear the creature's screams.

Angel winced, recalling when she'd been captured by Van Statten, she could hear the Dalek screaming as it was tortured from her room. She ran over to where the Doctor was standing and knelt by the tentacle, "Shh," she reached out, putting a hand on it, trying to calm it, trying to comfort it, trying to do whatever she could to show it that it was ok, that others were here, that they'd help, just...not wanting it to _hurt_ any longer, "Shh, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she whispered, stroking it lightly as the screams dulled to what sounded like the weeping of someone who'd just endured terrible pain.

The Doctor watched Angel soothing the creature, she'd always sort of had a...calm...about her, had always been able to diffuse situations, whether by odd comments or kind words, but...this was on another level. To be able to calm and sooth a beast like that, in the throes of such terrible pain...well that was something.

"Stop it," Liz whispered as the Doctor turned off the sonic. She turned to Hawthorne, "Who did this?"

"We act on instructions from the highest authority," Hawthorne stated grimly.

" _I_ am the highest authority. The creature will be released, now. I said now!" but no one made any sort of move, "Is anyone listening to me?"

The Doctor looked down at the mask still in his hand, "Liz. Your mask."

"What about my mask?"

He gave it back to her, "Look at it. It's old. At least 200 years old, I'd say."

"Yeah, it's an antique, so?"

"Yeah, an antique made by craftsmen over _200 years ago_ and perfectly sculpted to _your_ face. They slowed your body clock alright, but you're not 50. Nearer 300. And it's been a long old reign."

"Nah, it's ten years. I've been on this throne ten years."

"Ten years. And the _same_ ten years over and over again," he took her hand and tugged her, "Always leading you..." right over to a voting table, "Here," the buttons read 'Forget' or 'Abdicate.'

"What have you _done_?" Liz turned to Hawthorne, stunned.

"Only what you have ordered," the man sighed, solemn, "We work for you, Ma'am. The Winders, the Smilers, all of us," he pressed a button on the screen and the monitor flickered to life.

"If you are watching this..." Liz herself appeared on a recording, "If I am watching this, then I have found my way to the Tower Of London," the real Liz slowly moved to sit down, her gaze locked on the feed, "The creature you are looking at is called a Star Whale. Once, there were millions of them. They lived in the depths of space and, according to legend, guided the early space travelers through the asteroid belts. This one, as far as we are aware, is the last of its kind. And what we have done to it breaks my heart," the Doctor, Hawthorne, Amy, and Mandy watched, quiet, Angel still kneeling by the tentacle as the Star Whale twisted in pain, seeming to move closer to her as she stroked it, needing more comfort than she could provide, "The Earth was burning. Our sun had turned on us, and every other nation had fled to the skies. Our children screamed as the skies grew hotter. And then it came, like a miracle. The last of the Star Whales. We trapped it, we built our ship around it, and we rode on its back to safety. If you wish our voyage to continue, then you must press the 'forget' button. Be again the heart of this nation, untainted. If not, press the other button. Your reign will end, the Star Whale will be released, and our ship will disintegrate. I hope I keep the strength to make the right decision."

"I voted for this?" Amy shook her head, disgusted with herself, before looking at the Doctor, "Why would I do that?"

"Because you knew if we stayed here, I'd be faced with an impossible choice," he told her, grim, "Humanity or the alien. You took it upon yourself to save me from that. And that was wrong," he gave Amy a hard look, "You don't _ever_ decide what I need to know."

"I don't even remember doing it."

"You did it. _That's_ what counts."

"I'm...I'm sorry."

"Oh, I don't care. When I'm done here, you're going home," he walked away to the control panels.

"Why?" she moved after him, "Because I made a _mistake_? _One_ mistake? I don't even remember doing it. Doctor!"

"Yeah. I know. You're only human."

Angel looked once more at the tentacle before getting up and walking over to the Doctor.

"What are you doing?" Liz eyed him, wary, seeing him fiddling with some of the equipment.

"The worst thing I'll ever do. I'm going to pass a massive electrical charge through the Star Whale's brain. Should knock out all its higher functions, leave it a vegetable. The ship will still fly, but the whale won't feel it."

"That'll be like killing it," Amy shook her head.

"Look, three options. One: I let the Star Whale continue in unendurable agony for hundreds more years. Two: I kill everyone on this ship. Three: I murder a beautiful, innocent creature as painlessly as I can. And then...I find a new name, 'cos I won't be the Doctor anymore."

"There must be something we can do, some other way," Liz tried.

"Nobody talk to me," he muttered, before snapping, "Nobody _human_ has anything to say to me today!"

"Good thing I'm not human then," Angel said softly, almost so quietly that he didn't hear her, but he did and looked at her, "If you stick by the three options, I would pick the first one."

"What?" he gaped at her, stunned that she, _Angel_ , would _want_ the whale to continue as it was, seeing how pained it was, feeling so pained for it.

"I know what the Star Whale is feeling," she reminded him lightly, "Van Statten's scanner was the gentlest of other tests I'd suffered. But you know what? I would have rather suffered the pain and kept my soul than not have felt anything," she glanced at Amy and Liz, her attention lingering on Amy a moment longer, "But that's if you think there's _only_ three options," before looking back at the Doctor.

He swallowed and looked back at the controls.

Angel looked at him, not quite sure if she had just lied to him or not. Yes, in terms of physical pain, she would have rather endured it all and kept her soul, kept her mind. But right now...with the emotional, psychological, physical too, and just...pain that was everywhere...she couldn't answer truthfully if she wanted to continue, if she wouldn't want it to go away. She'd rather feel pain and know she was alive, but... _this_...what he was doing to her, no...what his _regeneration_ had done to her (because clearly _he_ had no idea what he was doing to her)...it hurt _so much more_ than any pain she'd endured. The agony of being so connected to someone else and them...not...was crippling and so much deeper a pain than she suspected anyone else had ever suffered.

She looked at the Star Whale, unable to help letting her mind wander to...to _her_ one option of ending her pain...

~8~

Amy and Mandy were sitting against the wall of the Tower, watching helplessly as the Doctor seemed to war with himself over what to do, Angel silently by his side, when three children entered, "Timmy!" Mandy jumped up, seeing her friend, "You made it, you're ok!"

Timmy just said nothing, it was against the rules for them to talk, and he...he didn't want to get fed to the whale again, what if it decided to eat him this time? He...he was _scared_.

"It's me, Mandy…"

Amy watched as one of the tentacle-things started to reach towards Mandy. The girl gasped and turned around as it tapped her on the back. She laughed though when it started to pet her gently. Amy eyed it a moment before looking over at Angel, to see her watching it, and her eyes widened as she began to understand…she could see it now! The Star Whale, the Time Lords, the children, the Doctor's inability to handle children crying, Angel's kindness of not wanting anyone else to suffer...

She looked over at Mandy and Timmy again as they pet the tentacles before rushing over to the Doctor, "Doctor, stop. Whatever you're doing, stop it now!" and then ran to Liz, grabbing her arm, "Sorry, Your Majesty, going to need a hand," she pulled her to the buttons.

"Amy, no!" the Doctor shouted, running over, "No!"

Amy forced Liz's hand down on 'Abdicate' and the whale cried out, the whole ship shaking, causing havoc on every level, but then...

Angel smiled, a moment before the ship settled down.

"Amy, what have you done?" the Doctor breathed, tense.

"Nothing at all," Amy grinned, "Am I right?"

"We've INCREASED speed!" Hawthorne gasped.

"Yeah, well, you've stopped torturing the pilot. Gotta help."

"It's still here?" Liz's eyes widened, seeming completely shocked that the whale, after everything they'd done to it, hadn't left them to their fate, "I don't understand.

"The Star Whale didn't come like a miracle all those years ago," Amy began, "It _volunteered_. You didn't have to trap it or torture it, that was all just you. It came because it couldn't stand to watch your children cry. What if you were really old, and really kind and alone? Your whole race dead, no future. What couldn't you do then? If you were that old, and that kind, and the very last of your kind..." she glanced back at the Doctor and Angel, "You couldn't just stand there and watch children cry."

~8~

The Doctor and Angel were standing before a large window, the observation deck, gazing out at the stars. Well, the Doctor was at least, deep in thought as he was, standing a little away from the glass. Angel, on the other hand, was standing right against it a few feet to the right, just...looking out at the beauty of space, at the city that had been saved by a kind alien. She hoped, she really did, that the Star Whale _wasn't_ the last and...she got a feeling it wasn't.

Scotland wanted their own ship hadn't they?

"From her Majesty!" Amy cheered, joining them and holding the mask out to the Doctor, "She says there will be no more secrets on Starship UK."

"Amy, you could have killed everyone on this ship," the Doctor began.

"You could have killed a Star Whale."

"And you saved it," he faced her, smiling, "I know, I know."

"Amazing, though, don't you think? The Star Whale. All that pain and misery...and loneliness," she gave him a look, "And it just made it kind."

Angel looked down, feeling...a bit afraid. If pain and misery and loneliness could make someone kind...what would happen to someone who was already kind? Would it be the reverse? She felt tears well in her eyes, so many people had told her she was kind...what would happen to her now? She...she didn't want to turn bitter or cold or...angry. That wasn't her but...she could feel it seeping in already, the loneliness. She would have thought it impossible to be with the person you loved and feel so lonely...but it seemed everything just wanted to prove her wrong all of a sudden.

She swallowed and shook her head, no, she wouldn't let it happen. She wouldn't. She...she was strong, she was smart (sort of), she'd figure out what happened to the Doctor and she'd help him like he had helped so many others including her. She had to. She...she could do it...right?

"But you couldn't have known how it would react," the Doctor tried to stress.

"YOU couldn't," Amy countered, "Maybe Angel could," she shrugged, the girl's words had put the thought in her mind that there might be another option, the girl _had_ to have suspected the whale's true nature, she seemed like a fair judge of character, "But I've seen it before. Very old and very kind, and the very, very last. Sound a bit familiar?" she glanced between Angel and him, "Hey."

"What?"

"Gotcha," she laughed before pulling him into a hug.

"Ha!" he hugged her back, "Gotcha."

Angel smiled back at them sadly, a bit...hurt that Amy hadn't thought to include her in the hug, before she sighed and looked out into the stars. Her smile faded though when a white streak caught her eye and her stomach tightened, unsettling itself. She looked down, just barely managing to see the edge of the base of the city…she pressed herself closer to the glass, wanting to be sure...

There on the base of the city, was a crack, just like the one from Amy's bedroom wall…

~8~

The trio headed back to the TARDIS, through the market, "Shouldn't we say goodbye?" Amy wondered, "Won't they wonder where we went?"

"For the rest of their lives," the Doctor agreed, "Oh, the songs they'll write! Never mind them. Big day tomorrow."

"Sorry, what?"

"It's always a big day tomorrow. We've got a time machine. I skip the little ones," he unlocked the TARDIS, "Especially Sundays, most boring day of the week!"

Angel stopped dead at the words, wondering how her hearts could _possibly_ still be whole enough to just keep breaking. She'd been born on a Sunday, the Doctor, he'd know that, or he used to it seemed. He'd claimed once or twice it became his favorite day near the end, the most life-changing event of his life her birth. She felt her hearts thump in her chest, well, that was something at least. Broken hearts continued to beat somehow.

"You know what I said about getting back for tomorrow morning..." Amy started to speak, "Have you ever run away from something because you were scared, or not ready, or just...just because you could?"

"Once...a long time ago."

"What happened?"

"Hello!" he held out his arms, laughing as he stepped into the TARDIS. Amy followed as Angel cast one more look around before following them in, shutting the doors behind her and resting against them, just as the phone began to ring.

"Right," Amy laughed, "Doctor, there's something I haven't told you. No. Hang on, is that a _phone_ ringing? People phone you?"

"It's a phone box," Angel murmured, pushing herself off the doors to walk over to the controls to help the Doctor, whoever was calling the TARDIS...it had to be dire for the box to let it through.

"Would you mind?" the Doctor gestured at the phone, struggling to get a lever down, but the TARDIS was resisting.

Amy slowly answered it, "Hello? Sorry, who? No, seriously. Who?" she held the phone to her shoulder, watching, amused, as the Doctor literally hung from the lever with all his weight trying to pull it down, "Says he's Prime Minister. First the Queen, now the Prime Minister. Get about, don't you?"

"Which Prime Minister?" he gave up on the lever and moved to a keypad...just as Angel walked over pulled the lever easily.

He pouted at that.

"Er, which Prime Minister?" she looked at the Doctor, "The British one."

Angel smiled, Amy certainly didn't have Donna's temping skills.

"Which British one?"

"Which British one?" Amy repeated. Her eyes widened as she passed the phone to the Doctor, "Winston Churchill for you."

"Oh!" he took the phone, "Hello, dear. What's up?"

"Tricky situation, Doctor," Winston began, "Potentially very dangerous. I think I'm going to need you."

"Don't worry about a thing, Prime Minister," he grinned, "We're on our way!" he laughed, hanging up and moving to twist a knob, when the TARDIS let out a big spark that had him snapping his hand away as the box disappeared from the market.

Angel watched the Doctor a moment longer, him running around the console, pulling controls here and there, or trying to as the box seemed to try and fight him at each turn, Amy trying to keep up, trying to ask him what some controls did but he just scratched his head and went back to piloting each time. She smiled a bit at that, he always was so rubbish at teaching his companions how to fly, usually SHE did that but...she just...couldn't. She looked down a moment before turning to walk out of the room...not even seeing the Doctor glance up and watch her go.

She wandered down the halls, to her room, she winced, it hurt to think that, _her_ room, not...not _their_ room. She swallowed and pushed her way into her room, closing the door behind her with her body, resting against it a moment before she looked at a small music box/jewelry box on the bedside table. All her belongings had been moved to the Doctor's room ages ago, but they'd all been returned to this room, in the same spots they'd always been.

She eyed the little box a moment before walking over to it and picking it up, holding it in one hand as the other lightly traced it. It was a small box, the Doctor...he'd made it for her, etched her name into the top in Gallifreyan. She let out a breath, he didn't remember this box, he didn't remember any of the gifts he'd given her now. She turned, moving to the side of her bed and sitting down on it, the box in her hands. She waited, sat in silence for a long while before she worked up the nerve to open it, feeling tears come to her eyes at the music that drifted out, a very soft, very slow version of 'All I Want For Christmas is You.' He'd made it for her after they'd met Jackson Lake, he'd claimed that if he ever talked himself hoarse he should have a way of keeping his promise to her, to dance with her to that song, not having a recording of it play, no, HE wanted to be the one singing to her, but in the off chance he couldn't he still wanted that tune for them.

She let out a shuddering breath, trying to keep the tears in her eyes, before she looked down at the box as the tune faded, there wasn't much in it. She didn't have much jewelry, just...just that diamond from San Helios that was too large to fit in it and her Whitepoint Star necklace. She wore it still, hoping maybe the light would catch it the right way and the Doctor would see it and remember but...nothing. The music box had become more a small little keepsake for treasured memories. There was a small dried rose, a photo of her and Mickey, a peace symbol key chain Martha had given her from 1969, a little toy action figure of supergirl but with the hair painted red from Donna, and two more pictures, one of the Torchwood team and another of her and Jack and Gray. She smiled at the keepsakes, before taking them out of the box and setting them beside her, looking at the very last object left there, the one hidden under all the others.

It was a bracelet.

It was a thick sort of metal shaped like a more oval U, old, almost...alien, entirely alien really, well, alien to humans that is. There were etchings on the side in Old High Gallifreyan, small computer-chip-like devices along the edges of it, so well blended in that they looked like just more etchings, humans would never notice it.

A Dampening Bracelet.

She picked it up, setting the box on her other side, and just...looked at it. It was standard issue for all Daleks when they had begun to take Time Lord prisoners during the War, wanting to try and get information out of them. They couldn't risk their captives dying should their Mates have passed in another battle.

A Dampening Bracelet...well, did what it said and more. It didn't just dampen the Mating bonds...it blocked them entirely. It didn't destroy it, it just...blocked them as long as the bracelet was worn. It made it so that one Mate couldn't hear or feel the other (though the other Mate could still hear and feel the one wearing the bracelet). It was literally the ONLY way to survive past the death of your Mate.

And it was sacrilege on Gallifrey.

The bracelets had been created during an old war, when they'd gone to war against the Racnoss actually, soldiers were dying in the middle of battle and, across the planet their Mates would drop dead as well, and their armies lost too many people not even in battle. Mates were forbidden to be stationed together as they were always more protective and worried and focused on their Mates instead of the platoon. The bracelets had been developed as a last resort, as a way to keep the double-deaths from happening till after the fight was won. It was a _disgusting_ method, to leave the soldiers not knowing if their Mate was dead, not allowing them to follow. But it had been done. The bracelets, for the most part, had been destroyed immediately after.

Mating was _sacred_ , it was forever, it was deep and powerful and meaningful, to _block_ that was...horrible.

A few bracelets had been kept though, should another terrible war be waged, locked away in the deepest archives of the planet to be used as blueprints later. But they had been stolen just before the War began, by the Daleks. All the plans and details about them as well, the Time Lords had been left helpless, none of the original creators still alive, none of the schematics for the bracelets stored anywhere but in the archives, _no one_ had wanted to even consider them again. It hadn't been till the plans and items had been stolen that they even realized what was lost. The Dalek that had attacked her sister had been issued with a bracelet and when she'd grabbed it and they'd shifted away...she'd been clinging to the alien's casing as tightly as she could, had ended up thrown away from it, the bracelet nearby, as they hit the Earth.

She'd had it all that time.

She'd worn it all through the 50 years she'd been on Earth.

Because she'd thought it was the _last_ bit of home she had, the last bit of tech, the last etchings of their language, the last _anything_ from Gallifreyan culture, even if it was a terrible thing to have. The humans had never noticed she'd worn it, they were all usually placed with a very low level perception filter so she'd managed to keep it with her.

But then she'd found the Doctor, and the TARDIS, and she hadn't needed it anymore. She'd wanted to throw it in a supernova but...something stopped her. Even _then_ something had told her not to get rid of it. She'd thought it was just the fact she'd had it for 50 years, so she'd just left it in a drawer in her room, and had only ever thought of it when she moved it to the box.

But here she was.

Sitting there with the _one thing_ that might give her relief.

It was hard, it was _so_ hard, to bear it, to be around the Doctor, to hear his mind thinking of adventure and the dangers and all sorts of things but give almost no thought to her. It was terrible to feel what he felt, to know that there was nothing...towards her. Or at least none she could feel. He did get the odd flash of...something...but it was gone too quickly for her to be sure what it was. To still be that connected to him and have him so closed to her...

Hurt.

It hurt more than _anything_ she'd ever felt, more than dying, more than the death of her family, more than the loss of their people. To lose someone like the Doctor...was truly the most terrible fate ever.

She ran her finger along the Gallifreyan symbols, eyeing the bracelet.

If she...if she wore it...if she just slipped it over her wrist, it would be over, till she took it off at least. She...she wouldn't have to hear the Doctor not thinking of her, she wouldn't have to feel him feeling odd around her, she wouldn't have to bear the burden of being the only one with the connection open...she might not hurt so much if she just...put it on. She never thought she'd reach this point, of actually and truly considering the bracelet, she'd tried to be strong before, tried to think that maybe he just had to settle a bit more, maybe just spending some time alone with her and not running around trying to save the world in 20 minutes might...spark something.

To hear him flat-out tell Liz 10 that they _weren't_ Mates, realizing Liz had meant true _Mates_ and not friends and he still denied it...it had _killed_ her. It had actually made her think of using the bracelet it hurt that badly.

But...even as she looked at the bracelet, as she held it in one hand, almost ready to slip it on...she just...

Couldn't.

She _couldn't_.

Because if she did, if they were spilt up and her 'sight' missed something, she wouldn't be able to tell if the Doctor was in danger, if he needed help, if he was in pain or scared.

She closed her eyes and put the bracelet back in the box, just...sitting there in the darkness...leaning over to rest her elbows on her knees, her hands clasped and pressed to her forehead.

Even now, even after everything, she loved him too much to do that.

~8~

_"In bed above, we're deep asleep, while greater love lies further deep. This dream must end, this world must know, we all depend on the beast below."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who else died a little bit when the Doctor said Sundays were boring? :'( Oh Doctor, you take a step forward and seven back :(
> 
> :( Well now we know what that one form of blocking the bond is :( I mean as in, honestly and truly blocking the bond, the Doctor got an itching in his head when Angel tried to call him in Eleventh Hour and (we'll see) he will at times get a fluttering of Angel's emotion (at extreme moments) and yes, he WILL die if Angel dies. The bracelet is deeper than that, it blocks it entirely, no itching, no feeling, no death. But you can see why it's so against the Time Lord culture to use it.
> 
> I'm torn between feeling happy that she isn't using it...and sad that she's going to be suffering not using it. At least here she was strong enough to not use it, as for whether she'll always be that strong...well...we'll see :(
> 
> I can say next chapter will have a bit of a lighter start to it, we'll see Angel have that talk with the TARDIS about how the box is treating the Doctor :) ...and then we get, you know, Daleks... :)


	8. Victory of the Daleks: The Ironsides

Angel sat in her room, she'd been spending an awful lot of time there hadn't she? She should really do something about that, she couldn't just keep sitting there while the Doctor was left to his own devices in the console room...she could only imagine what he'd broken by now. She was sitting on her floor, her back against her bed, her head resting back on it as she stared at her ceiling, listening to the gentle hum of the TARDIS around her. She couldn't be sure of what the box was saying, but the continuous hum and tone made her feel like the old girl was just ranting about the Doctor, likely complaining about what he'd just broken or...what happened.

She sighed, "You need to stop fighting him girl," she called out.

The humming stopped, seeming almost stunned.

She smiled, "I know you've been sparking when he touches you, when only _he_ touches you. You won't throw levers, you won't twist knobs or push buttons or...work...really," she shook her head, "And you need to stop doing that."

The TARDIS hummed a moment, sounding...confused? She wasn't sure, it was almost like the box couldn't believe what she was asking.

"I know," she nodded, "I know that you're upset with him, that you're cross that he's upset me, but...HE hasn't. Not really."

It was true, it wasn't HIM that was upsetting her, he wasn't purposefully being rude to her or being cruel or mean to her...he was just...treating her differently. And, looking at his memories, she couldn't honestly blame him for it. How else would you treat someone you didn't remember being sweet on? Like any other person.

It just...stung...and hurt...and broke her hearts that he was treating HER like that. Even before the Doctor had asked her to Mate, he'd been a little...fond of her. He'd always looked at her softly or held her hand or complimented her in his own way. But even that was gone. It was like...she was a Time Lady.

And that was it.

And she didn't know why.

THAT was what killed her, that she had no idea what had happened to him to make him treat her like that, to let all those memories disappear. She wasn't clever. She wasn't brilliant or smart or clever or quick, she truly didn't know what happened or what she could do about it. But she was going to try and work it out. She had to, to give up...she couldn't imagine giving up on the Doctor, not after he never gave up on her.

And that was just it too, wasn't it? She didn't know what happened. She was trying to keep herself from thinking, from theorizing, that it could have been the Doctor's fault somehow for as long as possible, needing to come up with _any_ other excuse for the sake of her hearts. So she pushed it to the back of her mind. The fact still remained that she didn't know what was wrong, and so she couldn't blame the Doctor and she couldn't treat him like it was his fault...if it wasn't. It couldn't be...could it?

The TARDIS hummed in disbelief, as though scoffing at the thought that the Doctor wasn't to blame for her being so sad.

She sighed, "I don't know what happened," she reminded the box, "I can't treat him like it's his fault when it might not be. And neither should you."

The TARDIS gave a hesitant hum.

She frowned, "Do...do you know what happened?"

No hum followed.

She swallowed hard, hoping that meant that the box was silently agreeing with her that, yes she knew what happened, and it wasn't the Doctor's fault. She firmly pushed the thought that the box did know what happened and it was the Doctor's fault but the old girl just didn't want to confirm it and crush what was left of her Pilot's hearts to the back of her mind and locked it away.

"You won't tell me," she nodded, "And I...I wouldn't be able to guess what you were saying anyway."

She really wouldn't have. She'd be too hopeful of one option and try to find ways to interpret any hum towards that end. Which would only hurt her in the long run if it ended up being the other option. She wanted to know what had happened, if the box did know, but...she also didn't. Because if it ended up being something permanent...she'd rather live in hope that it wasn't.

"Please girl," she asked again, "For now, I'm going to believe it's not his fault. And if he had no control over it then it wasn't his fault. And you can't blame him for that happening."

The TARDIS hummed, which made her laugh as it sounded (and reminded her) very much like a child pouting about something.

"I need to know you'll take care of him if he needs it," she continued, "If I'm not there to pilot you, I need to know you'll help him and not fight him," she looked down, "He's still my thief, he's still stolen my hearts," she closed her eyes, "And he can't give them back, he doesn't remember where he put them. And it hurts..." she looked up, taking a breath, "It hurts me when you hurt him."

The box was quiet a moment, before humming softly, like an apology.

"It's alright," she laughed, look at that, the box, the all-seeing, all-knowing box hadn't thought of that, "So you see...it's not your fault either," she pointed out, the box HAD been hurting her by sparking and burning the Doctor because she could feel his pain just a bit when it happened, "Ok?"

She waited, listening intently, until the box finally gave a short hum.

"Thank you girl," she patted the floor.

It felt...nice, comforting, to know that the box loved her so much, that the box knew what was happening and was there for her. Even if she couldn't answer back completely, being a box and all, she at least was able to communicate enough. And now she...she didn't feel quite so alone knowing the TARDIS was aware of what had happened.

The TARDIS must have made good on her promise to lighten up on the Doctor for, a moment later, there was a cheer from the console room so loud she could hear it in her bedroom, the Doctor had finally managed to set a course to go check on Winston Churchill, as he'd been trying to do for quite a while as the TARDIS fought with him.

She sighed, picking herself up, and, as always seemed to happen now, lost her balance a moment before she headed for the door, blaming it a bit on the Doctor's piloting too. She didn't doubt he'd be able to get them to see the man immediately...but knowing him they'd overshoot by a month or two so she needed to be there to make sure it didn't end up being a year instead.

She paused in the doorway though, "Thanks," she patted it before continuing down the hall.

~8~

A siren wailed as men and women in uniforms manned the phones and radios in a smoky room, rushing to keep track of what seemed like an ongoing battle, "Can't we shut that ruddy thing up?" a male officer called over the siren, frantic.

"If wishes were kisses...Hostile 36, confirm," a woman said into a headset.

"Able Victor Charlie down."

A second woman entered with a clipboard, "26 and 41 detailed to intercept."

"41?" the woman took off her headset, alarmed, growing four shades paler, her eyes widening, "That's...that's Reg's squadron."

Before anyone could comment on that or attempt to reassure her, all knowing it would be full of false words and hope, Winston Churchill entered the room. He was a large man with glasses, a cigar clamped in his mouth, looking serious as everyone stood at attention.

"Sir," the clipboard woman saluted, trying to keep her voice from shaking as her fear for her beau overwhelmed her.

"How many?" Winston asked, looking around, not wanting to waste time on pleasantries and decorum while the lives of the British people were at stake.

"Looks like a dozen Heinkel at least, sir," the male officer reported, "With Messerschmidts flanking."

"Out of range?"

"Normally, sir, yes," the woman nodded.

He puffed on his cigar, "Well, then. Time to roll out the secret weapon!"

The woman nodded and, with a long stick, pushed a figure of their new Ironsides, looking very much like a large pepperpot, across the map.

~8~

The TARDIS materialized inside the Cabinet's secret war storage rooms and the Doctor stepped out followed by Angel to see a line of soldiers pointing guns at them. He tensed, feeling a flash of something...like anger, anger at having guns pointed at them, and protectiveness, wanting to grab Angel and pull her behind him...race through him. He shook his head, not sure where that had come from, Angel had faced plenty of dangers in the past, and she'd been just fine. And glancing at her, not to make sure she wasn't scared or anything, not at all, he could see...she really wasn't scared. She seemed at ease, like she knew the guns wouldn't be used. Well, that was reassuring.

"Amy..." the Doctor called as he spotted Winston walk in, the soldiers parting for him, "Winston Churchill."

"Doctor?" Winston gasped, taking in the rather young man standing before him, very much unlike the last version of the man he'd seen, "Is it you?"

Amy stepped out completely, staring, wide eyed at Churchill, Angel smiling a bit at that, she loved it when the companions had that expression, that awe...that was what taking them aboard had been about. She hoped...she hoped she might be able to ask the Doctor if Rory might be able to come. She really wanted the boy to be her next companion, more than any other person she'd asked the question to in the past. She'd been, admittedly, distracted after the first adventure, had been fully intent to ask him to pick up Rory too that night they took Amy away. But, with everything that had happened, it just...slipped her mind. But she wanted Rory to be there, she wanted him to be able to experience the adventure and the wonders of the Universe.

And she wanted to hug him. He seemed like a rather hug-able man and very sweet. She...she hadn't gotten many hugs recently and she found she really just...wanted someone, one person, to hug her. People always underestimated the power of a hug.

"Oh, Winston, my old friend!" the Doctor moved to shake Winston's hand but the man simply held out his own hand like he wanted something, "Ah, every time!"

"What's he after?" Amy frowned.

"The TARDIS key," Angel answered before stepping forward and shaking Winston's hand, knowing the Doctor likely wouldn't introduce her, "Hello, I'm the Angel, nice to meet you," she swallowed hard, trying her best to prepare herself for the inevitable lack of 'my Mate' from the Doctor.

But, what do you know, it still hurt.

"And you as well my dear," Winston smiled at her warmly before turning to the Doctor, "Think of what I could achieve with your remarkable machine, Doctor! The lives that could be saved!"

"That's not the way it works," Angel told the man before turning to close the TARDIS doors behind Amy, making sure no one would be sneaking into the box without them there to open the doors.

"Must I take it by force?"

The Doctor chuckled, "I'd like to see you try."

"At ease," Winston ordered the soldiers who lowered their rifles.

"You rang?" the Doctor grinned.

Winston laughed and turned to lead them down the hallways while an air raid happened overhead, "So you've changed your face again?"

"Yeah, well, had a bit of work done."

"Got it, got it, got it!" Amy called, "Cabinet War Rooms, right?"

"Yup," the Doctor looked at her, "Top secret heart of the War Office, right under London."

"You're late, by the way," Winston remarked.

"Requisitions, sir," a woman stepped up to him with a clipboard.

Winston handed his cane back to the Doctor and took the board, "Excellent," he smiled at the results listed on it.

"Late?" the Doctor asked.

"By nearly a month," Angel remarked, "I told you to call me when the TARDIS stopped fighting you and let me help."

He just shrugged, she'd gone to her room, she'd been spending an awful lot of time there, now that he thought about it. He thought she was just napping or just wanted a lie down or...just liked her room. It had to be that, because he didn't think she was avoiding the console room in order to not fix things, she loved fixing things, and the only other explanation was...he blinked, a bit startled, that she was avoiding HIM. Well...that was wrong, yes, definitely, she wasn't avoiding him. Not at all. No. Why would she?

And why did it _hurt_ so badly to think she might be?

Winston looked at Angel, a bit shocked she was right, before nodding, "I rang you a month ago exactly," he signed the papers.

"Really?" the Doctor blinked, shaking himself out of his thoughts, absently rubbing his chest to try and relieve the tightening that had appeared there at the thought of Angel not wanting to be around him, "Sorry. Sorry," he smiled again, the tightening gone, "It's a Type 40 TARDIS. I'm just running her in."

"No you're not," Angel told him, "It's just your piloting. I told you to let me set the coordinates."

Winston laughed at their bickering before handing the clipboard back, only then noticing the woman was tense before him, "Something the matter, Breen? You look a little down in the dumps."

"No, sir," Breen hugged the clipboard tightly, her voice betraying her inner anguish and fear, "Fine, sir."

Angel frowned, eyeing the woman sadly, she was upset about something, clearly she was. And, given there was a war on, it was likely that it had something to do with someone close to her being out there and in danger. See, she reminded herself, she could still work things out herself. Now she just had to work out what was wrong with the Doctor.

"Action this day, Breen!" Winston cheered, "Action this day!"

"Yes, sir," Breen nodded, forcing a smile before looking at Angel and Amy and heading off.

"Excuse me, sir, got another formation coming in, Prime Minister," an officer reported, "Stukas, by the look of them."

"We shall go up top then, Group Captain!" Winston nodded, "We'll give 'em what for! Coming, Doctor?"

"Why?" the Doctor looked at him.

Winston grabbed his cane from the Doctor, "I have something to show you."

The Doctor mouthed 'ooh' to Amy who giggled, but Angel though, was far less eager.

"I have a feeling we're not going to like it," Angel remarked, shifting uneasily, a pit forming in her stomach.

The Doctor looked over at her, sobering instantly at her words, which, to be honest, shocked Amy just a little how quickly his entire demeanor had changed. It was weird...how much of an affect Angel seemed to have on the man. It was like...when she talked, he listened, when she wasn't there, he noticed (boy did he notice), but...at the same time...when she WAS there, it was like...she was just...there...it didn't make sense how he acted so differently around the Time Lady given she was also the last of his species.

She shrugged, aliens, and they all followed after Winston.

~8~

Winston started the lift as soon as they all gathered in, puffing on his cigar as the Doctor waved the smoke away, Amy and Angel standing in the back of the lift, Angel trying not to inhale too deeply, the smoke was making her rather queasy, well, not just the smoke really. Well, it was, the smoke that is, but...even before, the smell of it lingered on Winston and just...twisted her stomach. Amy and the Doctor didn't seem to notice it then, but they certainly did now. She supposed she had just never liked the smell of smoke, she always associated it with fires and the TARDIS crashing and explosions and all it did was make her think of her mother, and how she'd died. And that smell, smoke was the one smell that always seemed to linger no matter what you did. Oh she'd have to wash her dress a number of times to get the smell out of it. Though she supposed it was just their luck, first they'd been left in a rubbish heap of rotting organic products and now they were surrounded by cigar smoke. What would be next? Would they encounter space skunks? More Slitheen? Alien vampires that smelled like fish?

Oh she hoped not, just _thinking_ about those smells made her feel sick.

"We stand at a crossroads, Doctor," Winston sighed, "Quite alone, with our backs to the wall. Invasion is expected daily. So I will grasp with both hands anything that will give us an advantage over the Nazi menace."

"Such as?" he wondered.

The lift came to a halt and Winston pulled the gate open, "Follow me," he led them to the roof of the building where a man in a white lab coat was watching the sky with binoculars on another higher section of the roof. The trio followed Winston over to him, past the sandbags lining the edge of the roof.

"Wow!" Amy stared, looking out over London.

"Doctor, Angel, Amy, this is Professor Edwin Bracewell, head of our Ironsides Project," Winston began, introducing the man with the binoculars.

The Doctor held up his hand with a 'V for Victory' sign.

"How d'you do?" the man called.

"Nice to meet you," Angel waved up at him with a small smile.

Bracewell nodded back at them before turning back to his binoculars, though they weren't quite necessary as they could all see a formation of German planes approaching while London sat there, barrage balloons out there while bombs dropped.

"Do you think Rose is dangling out there anywhere?" Angel tried to joke, trying to reference one of the adventures she knew he recalled. Maybe...maybe if she could bring up the ones he remembered she could lead into some of the events he'd forgotten...

But the Doctor just laughed and said, "Nah, it was night when that happened."

"Oh, Doctor..." Amy breathed, still staring in wonder at the city, "Angel, it's..."

"History," the Doctor smiled.

"Ready, Bracewell?" Winston looked over.

"Aye-aye, sir!" he gave a thumbs up, "On my order! Fire!"

From within a sandbagged area on the roof, a laser shot out at the German planes, destroying them quickly.

Angel tensed, her eyes wide in fear as she recalled the sound of a Dalek fire. She could still recall, every single time she faced one, especially when the one in Van Statten's museum had shot her in the chest. The Doctor seemed to almost sense her thoughts and took her hand quickly, squeezing it as he too looked at the roof in horror.

"What was _that_?" Amy asked, actually sounding impressed.

"That wasn't human," the Doctor breathed, "That was _never_ human technology."

"Doctor," Angel panted heavily, starting to shake, "That...that sounded like..."

"Show me!" he turned to Winston, "Show me what that was!" he ran forward, dropping Angel's hand and climbing the ladder to stand by Bracewell, Angel still standing in shock at the bottom with Amy, staring out at the sky where the planes had been, not wanting to look, not wanting to see if it was real.

"Advance!" Bracewell commanded.

"Our new secret weapon!" Winston cheered as a Dalek moved out, painted in Army khaki with a utility belt wrapped around it and a small Union Flag under its eyestalk, "What do you think? Quite something, eh?"

"What are you doing here?" the Doctor breathed as he stared in horror at the Dalek.

"I am your soldier," it stated.

Angel winced, closing her eyes, unable to ignore it any longer, that was a Dalek, a real Dalek, they were back. But how?! They'd all been destroyed last time, hadn't they?

"What?"

"I am your soldier."

"Stop this. Stop now! You know who I am, you always know."

The Dalek turned its eyestalk on him, "Your identity is unknown," and then moved to where Amy and Angel were standing, the stalk remaining fixed on Angel as she shifted uncomfortably, glancing over at it.

"Perhaps I can clarify things here, this is one of my Ironsides," Bracewell smiled.

The Doctor turned to him, alarmed, "Your what?"

"You will help the Allied cause in any way that you can?" Bracewell asked the Dalek.

"Yes," it answered, finally pulling its eyestalk away from Angel and to the man beside him.

"Until the Germans have been utterly smashed?"

"Yes."

"And what is your ultimate aim?"

"To win the war!"

Angel closed her eyes, shaking her head, this _couldn't_ be happening, not again.

~8~

The Doctor looked at the diagrams and blueprints of the Daleks in Winston's office while Angel stood by the desk, frowning at the propaganda posters about the new 'Ironsides,' as Winston was calling them.

"They're Daleks!" the Doctor insisted, "They're called Daleks!"

"They are Bracewell's Ironsides, Doctor!" Winston argued, "Look! Blueprints, statistics, field-tests, photographs. He _invented_ them!"

"Invented them? Oh, no, no, no!"

"Yes! He approached one of our brass hats a few months ago. Fella's a genius."

"A Scottish genius, too," Amy added, far too at ease with the whole thing.

Angel looked up at her a moment, frowning, given everything that had happened during the time the Earth had been stolen, Amy should have been terrified about the creatures...unless...the cracks...could the cracks be...she shook her head, never believing she'd actually think this given how the cracks made her feel so ill...but...she needed a closer look at one.

"Maybe you should listen to..." Amy continued.

"Shh!" the Doctor cut in, "He didn't invent them! They're _alien_."

"Alien?" Winston frowned.

Angel tensed, grabbing the Doctor's arm to silence him a moment before a Dalek glided past the doorway, its eyestalk fixing on them even as it continued on down the hall.

"And totally hostile!" the Doctor added.

"Precisely. They will win me the war!" Winston turned over a propaganda poster with a large Dalek on it before storming out of his office, a frustrated Doctor following after him along with a worried Angel and a confused Amy.

"Why won't you _listen_? Why call me in if you won't listen to me?!"

"When I rang you a month ago, I must admit, I had my doubts. The Ironsides seemed too good to be true."

"Yes! Right! So destroy them! Exterminate them!"

"But imagine what I could do with a hundred! A thousand!"

"I _am_ imagining," the Doctor glared as a courier Dalek passed them, Angel shifting as its eyestalk seemed to linger on _her_ till it passed them, "Amy, tell him."

"Tell him what?" Amy asked.

"About the Daleks!"

"What would I know about the Daleks?"

"Everything."

"They invaded Earth a few times," Angel told her, watching her reaction closely, wanting to see if her thoughts on the cracks might be a bit more...right, "Don't you remember when the Earth had been moved? The planets in the sky?" but Amy shook her head.

"You don't forget that!" the Doctor shouted before seeming to realize what Angel had, "Amy...tell me you remember the Daleks."

"Nope, sorry," Amy shrugged.

"That's not possible," the Doctor said slowly, glancing at Angel who seemed equally concerned.

"And 6...2357, over!" they heard Breen report from the room Winston had entered, "2357, over!"

They turned and walked in as a Dalek glided past them, eyeing the three of them, "So they're up to something, but what is it?" the Doctor muttered, "What are they after? Angel?" he looked at her.

"I don't know," she sighed, she hadn't had a vision or anything yet and it wasn't like she could control them or force them at the moment, she wasn't that strong. They were still far too random.

"Well, let's just ask, shall we?" Amy walked over to one.

"Amy...Amelia!" the Doctor shouted, about to go after her when Angel tugged him back, watching closely.

Amy tapped a Dalek on the head and it swiveled its eyestalk to look at her, "Can I be of assistance?" its eyestalk twitched.

"Oh. Yes. Yes! See, my friends reckon you're dangerous. That you're an alien. Is it true?"

The Dalek looked past her, at the duo, its eyestalk moving from the Doctor to the Angel, spending a moment longer on her, before returning to Amy, "I am your soldier."

"Yeah. Got that bit. Love a squaddie. What else, though?"

"Please excuse me. I have duties to perform," it turned and rolled out of the room.

Angel frowned before turning and going over to Winston, "Winston, please, listen to us."

"We are waging total war," the man shook his head, "Day after day, the Luftwaffe pound this great city like an iron fist."

"The Daleks will be _worse_ than that."

"Men, women and children slaughtered. Families torn apart. Wren's churches in flames."

"The Earth in flames," Angel said quietly, "They will _burn_ the Earth to the ground, and they won't stop there, they'll spread Winston, once they begin they just...don't stop. They _never_ stop."

Winston sighed, "I weep for my country, I weep for my empire. It is breaking my heart," he turned and moved around the table.

"It's breaking mine as well," Angel murmured, shifting. The pit that had started to form in her stomach had just gotten worse, like she knew something terrible was coming, but she couldn't quite...see it yet.

"But you're resisting, Winston!" the Doctor called, following him, seeing the man was too stubborn for even Angel to get through to him, "The whole world knows you're resisting! You're a beacon of _hope_."

Like Angel was.

He paused, blinking, where had _that_ come from?

"But for how long?" Winston signed some more papers, pulling the Doctor from his thoughts, "Millions of innocent lives will be saved if I use these Ironsides now!"

"Can I be of assistance?" a Dalek asked, rolling over.

"Shut it!" the Doctor yelled at it.

"Winston," Angel began softly as the Dalek trundled away, "The Daleks...they don't have a conscience, they won't show mercy or pity or sorrow or regret. Yes, they'll...they'll kill your enemies, but then they'll turn on you too. Anything that isn't Dalek is the enemy to them."

"We know them. They are our oldest and deadliest enemy. You _cannot_ trust them!"

"If Hitler invaded hell, I would give a favorable reference to the Devil!" Winston shouted, "These machines are our salvation!"

The Doctor shook his head, how could they be the salvation of Earth? They weren't Angel.

He winced, pressing a hand to his head as a bit of a pain hit him. Where were these thoughts coming from?

A siren went off and Winston looked up, "Oh, the all clear. We are safe. For now," he turned and left, leaving the Doctor and Angel staring at a Dalek in the back of the room, it staring back at them, before it turned and left as well.

"It's the all clear," Amy looked at them, "Are you ok?"

"What does hate look like, Amy?" the Doctor murmured, twisting an officer's cap in his hand as Angel crossed her arms, she'd found herself doing that a lot recently, it was like...if she did that, she wouldn't be tempted to take the Doctor's hand because, clearly, he didn't want to hold hers any longer.

"Hate?"

"It looks like a Dalek. And I'm going to prove it," he tossed the cap on a desk and walked out, Angel glancing around the room before following him.

~8~

Bracewell worked at his desk, a few technicians nearby, when a Dalek glided up to him, "Would you care for some tea?"

"That would be very nice," he smiled, "Thank you."

The Doctor, Angel, and Amy walked in, the Doctor immediately checking all the equipment while Amy just looked around, Angel focusing on Bracewell, eyeing him, not quite...sure about him...

"Alright, professor!" the Doctor shouted, "The PM's been filling me in. Amazing things, these Ironsides of yours. Amazing. You must be very proud of them."

"Just doing my bit," Bracewell gave a small nod.

"Not bad for a Paisley boy," Amy held up a spanner as the Doctor sat in a chair and looked at a file.

"Yes, I thought I detected a familiar cadence, my dear."

"How did you do it?" the Doctor asked, "Come up with the idea?"

"How does the muse of invention come to anyone?"

He tossed the file on a desk, "But you get a lot of these clever notions, do you?"

"Well, ideas just seem to teem from my head! Wonderful things! Like...let me show you," he gathered some files from another desk, showing them as they walked over, "Some musings on the potential of hypersonic flight. Gravity bubbles that could sustain life outside of the terrestrial atmosphere! Came to me in the bath!"

"Are you sure they're _your_ ideas?" Angel asked him softly, eyeing him, "Couldn't they be theirs?" she glanced at the Dalek eyeing her as it entered.

"No, no, no, no," he laughed, "These robots are entirely under my control. They are..." the Dalek wheeled up with a tray of tea, "Thank you...the perfect servant, and the perfect warrior."

"I don't know what you're up to, professor," the Doctor told him, "But whatever they've promised, you cannot trust them! Call them what you like, the Daleks are death!"

"Yes, Doctor," Winston agreed, walking in with another Dalek behind him, "Death to our enemies! Death to the forces of darkness, and death to the Third Reich!"

"Yes, Winston, and death to everyone else too!"

"Would you care for some tea?" the Dalek asked.

The Doctor shoved the tray off the Dalek's sucker, causing it to fall to the floor, making Angel flinch, "Stop this! What are you doing here? What do you want?"

"We seek only to help you."

"Help how?" Angel asked it cautiously.

"To help win the war."

"Really?" the Doctor snorted, "Which war?"

"I do not understand."

"This war, against the Nazis? Or your war? The war against the rest of the Universe? The war against all life forms that are not Dalek?"

"I do not understand. I am your soldier."

"Oh, yeah? Ok," he turned and grabbed up a giant spanner, "Ok, soldier, defend yourself!" he started whacking the Dalek with it.

"Doctor, what the devil!?" Bracewell shouted.

"You do not require tea?" the Dalek continued as the Doctor kept striking it.

"Stop it! Prime Minister, please!"

"Doctor, please, these machines are precious," Winston cried.

"Come on!" the Doctor glared, "Fight back! You want to, don't you? You know you do!"

He really had no idea where this... _anger_ was coming from. He'd dealt with Daleks in the past, loads of them, too many to be happy, but...this...this deep fury, it was unlike anything he'd felt before. It was...consuming him. He hated the Daleks, yes, but never more than right then. And he didn't know why. It was like...he blamed them for something, but...not the War. No, it was something so much worse, so much closer to him, so much more important to him.

But he didn't know what.

Angel though, watched him, not sure what to do...usually she would be able to calm him down, to talk him down, but she could feel it, the rage inside him. This was more powerful than anything he'd felt and...but she knew why. She felt it in the Doctor, even if he didn't understand it, because, in his memories that she'd seen before he regenerated, in the emotions she'd felt from him both at the time and when he thought about it were the same. The first Dalek they'd encountered had killed her, the next nearly destroyed her by forcing her to take in the Vortex, and after that they'd held her captive and threatened her, they'd tried to attack her in Solomon's camp, they'd led to the Doctor thinking she was dead in the Crucible...all that rage, all those times the Daleks had been present and she'd been in danger, this was what the Doctor had felt at those times.

But then he understood the feelings, the rage, the Mating instinct to protect his Mate.

Now, he had no idea why he felt so angry at them, why he blamed them for something (something he couldn't remember), why he wanted to wipe them out. Because they'd hurt her in the past. He could remember they had, but he couldn't remember the emotion behind it on his part, he couldn't remember how he'd reacted or what he'd felt when it happened.

She was confused, how could he still feel that anger if he didn't remember feeling it in the past? How could it be the same feeling?

"I must protest!" Bracewell shouted.

"What are you waiting for?" the Doctor spat, "You hate me. You hate Angel. You want to kill us. Well, go on! Kill me. Kill me!" he hit it again.

"Doctor, be careful!" Amy grabbed him, yanking him back.

"Please desist from striking me," the Dalek said, "I am your soldier."

"You are our _enemy_!" he cried, striking it, "And we are yours! You are everything we despise! The worst thing in all creation. Angel has defeated you twice, destroyed you time and time again, destroyed herself to do it. I've defeated you, sent you back into the Void! We saved the whole of reality from you!"

"Doctor no!" Angel gasped, a feeling flashing through her at where his words were going, feeling the need to stop him, but it was too late.

"I am the Doctor! And you are the Daleks!" he kicked the Dalek till it rolled backwards.

"Correct," the Dalek agreed, "Review testimony."

"'I am the Doctor. And you are the Daleks!'" the Doctor's voice repeated.

"Testimony?" the Doctor breathed, "What are you talking about, testimony?"

"Transmitting testimony now," the second Dalek ordered.

"Transmit what, where?"

~8~

In a Dalek spaceship, hiding on the far side of the moon, a third Dalek stuck its plunger arm to a receiver, "Receiving testimony now."

A small Dalek-shaped device was suspended by two metal bars in a cubicle behind him, 'I am the Doctor. And you are the Daleks!' echoed through the room as the testimony repeated.

The lights on the device began to flash and it beeped.

"Progenitor activated. Testimony accepted! Testimony accepted!"

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, Angel is just too sweet, getting the TARDIS to ease up on the Doctor. I can say that there might be a small Thella moment in the next chapter ;) And we'll see another Angel-theory on what might have happened to the Doctor in the last chapter for this episode too :) Idk why, but this episode wasn't my favorite, so if it's not quite up to par, that's probably why :)


	9. Victory of the Daleks: The Progenitor

"Testimony accepted!" the second Dalek cried in the lab, receiving the report from the Dalek in the ship.

"Get back!" Angel called, pulling the Doctor back from it as he stood there in shock and confusion, "All of you get back!"

"Marines!" Winston shouted, sensing a change in the situation, a change in the Ironsides, "Marines! Get in here!" two marines entered, guns at the ready, about to open fire, but one of the Daleks simply fired, killing them both.

"Stop it!" Bracewell ordered, alarmed that the things he'd created had turned on them, "Stop it, please! What are you doing? You are my Ironsides!"

"We are the Daleks!" the Dalek replied.

"But I created you!"

"No," it shot off Bracewell's hand, sending the man staggering back into a desk, his hand...only a stump of wires and circuits which made everyone stare at him in shock, Bracewell was a robot!

" _We_ created _you_!" the Dalek cried.

"Victory!" they chanted, "Victory! Victory!" before teleporting away.

"What just happened?" Amy panted in shock, not sure what had happened and...feeling rather foolish. She hadn't listened to the Time Lords, no one had, when they'd tried to warn them of the Daleks, of their true evil origins, they hadn't listened at all...and now the aliens were being proven right. The Daleks had turned on them, clearly they'd had some sort of ulterior plot and the Time Lords had been right not to trust them as easily as the humans had.

"I wanted to know what they wanted, what their plan was," the Doctor muttered, " _I_ was their plan!" he looked at Angel who held up her hands.

"I can't see everything," she reminded him.

He supposed he should have expected that, the last thing anyone wanted to see was the Daleks. He wouldn't blame her for not wanting to see the future that was coming with their enemies there. He sighed and ran out of the room, Angel following.

"Hey!" Amy shouted before following after them.

~8~

The Progenitor device flashed faster as the two other Daleks joined the third, all coming to a stop before the device, eyeing it and scanning it to ensure it was properly working.

"Commencing Phase Two," the third Dalek reported, "The Progenitor is activated! It begins!"

~8~

The Doctor and Angel raced through the base, past soldiers who had come into the hall to see what the shouting was about, making their way back into the storage room and over to the TARDIS, "'Testimony accepted!'" the Doctor repeated, "That's what they said! My testimony."

"Don't beat yourself up," Amy called, managing to catch up to them, Winston panting a distance behind her, "You were right," the Doctor unlocked the TARDIS doors and Angel rushed in first, both of them knowing that, when time was of the essence, it was best to let her do what she did with the TARDIS, he wasn't going to risk the Daleks getting away because he hit the wrong button, which he admittedly did quite often, "What do we do? Is this what we do now? Chase after them?"

"This is what _Angel_ and I do," he turned in the middle of the doorway to stop Amy following.

"What, so I can't come?" Amy scoffed, "Why does _she_ get to go?"

She knew she was being childish to ask that, she knew that Angel was a Time Lady like the Doctor was a Time Lord, she knew that Angel was a better pilot than the Doctor was when it came to the box and that the box seemed to like Angel more than the Doctor at the moment. But why should she sit back? She could help! He'd asked her to come with him, he knew what she was capable of then, what she could handle. She hadn't joined him just to sit off to the side.

"Because she's a Time Lady," the Doctor countered.

"And I'm a human."

"And you didn't know the Daleks."

"And I do now."

"But I can't trust you," the Doctor snapped, startling Amy, "I can't trust you not to fall for their tricks Amy," he explained, thinking of Rose and how she'd fallen for the Dalek's trick and Angel had regenerated as a result. He shook his head, rubbing his chest as his hearts tugged at the memory for some reason, "Daleks always have another plan, always have some trick up their...sleeves," he paused, trying to think if that phrase still applied when Daleks didn't wear coats or shirts, but shook his head again, "I can't trust that you won't fall for it."

"And Angel won't?" she tried to argue, even though she knew it was a _rubbish_ counter. She just...she wanted to go!

"She's psychic," he reminded her, "She'd see through it a mile away, and THAT is what I need Amelia Pond. I just need Angel."

Amy eyed him closely at the words, the tone...the tone he'd said it in, it didn't match his expression. He sounded like he was saying that the only thing he'd _ever_ need in the entire Universe was Angel, but his expression seemed to be him just commenting on the situation at hand, as though he were simply trying to explain why Angel would be useful at the moment and not making a startling and deep statement. It didn't fit...it didn't match. Which was it? The tone that implied there was more to his relationship with Angel than he let on, or the expression that was regretful she couldn't come.

She didn't know. But she was going to go with the second one. He'd said, insisted really, that he and Angel were just friends, which was just as well, because she was rather eager to try and get the Doctor alone to...talk...about somethings that had been on her mind for a while.

"And it's dangerous," he continued, both the tone and expression gone so she couldn't even analyze it more, "So wait here."

"What, so you mean I've got to stay safe down here in the middle of the London Blitz?" Amy continued as Winston came up behind her.

"Safe as it gets around me," he waved and stepped into the TARDIS.

Amy and Winston watched as it disappeared, "What does he expect us to do now?" Amy huffed, crossing her arms.

"KBO, of course," Winston replied.

"What?"

"Keep buggering on!"

~8~

The Doctor and Angel ran around the controls, both of them far too focused to notice that the TARDIS was keeping true to her promise and not mucking up the Doctor's efforts. Though Angel doubted the box would, even if she was cross with the Doctor the TARDIS would _not_ take any risks when it came to Daleks. She shook her head, she couldn't think about that now, she had to remain focused on the controls, and ran about, setting up everything to fly while the Doctor checked the monitor, locking onto the Dalek ship.

"Bingo!" he cheered, hitting a button and pulling a lever, the TARDIS on a direct path to the ship.

~8~

Breen entered the war room with a paper in hand, "Prime Minister..."

"Yes?" he looked up from where he was quietly speaking with Amy about what the Time Lords might possibly be doing.

"Signal from RDF, sir," she handed him it, "Unidentified object. Hanging in the sky, Captain Childers says. We can't get a proper fix, though. It's too far up."

"What do you think, Miss Pond? The Doctor and his friend are in trouble and now we know where they are."

"Yeah," Amy nodded, grinning, "'Cos they'll be on that ship, won't they? Right in the middle of everything."

"Exactly!"

~8~

An air raid warden was watching from the rooftop as more bombs fell that night, sighing as he looked out on the city that was sitting in darkness, sad that it had come to this, that war had to happen. It was terrible. He knew there must be so many children out there, some wandering the streets, he'd seen them, others with their parents, staying in London despite the possible bombs that could fall on them. To live in such fear...he'd assume quite a few people had taken refuge in the cathedrals, in their home made bomb shelters that likely wouldn't help them all that much if a real bomb did fall nearby. But he supposed hope was better than anything.

He did feel for the children though, to live in a constant state of fear, not knowing what was coming, just that the sirens meant you needed to hide. It was terrible. A terrible time.

He looked over, continuing his observations, to see someone with their lights still on in a nearby building, violating the blackout, "Oi! Put that light out!" he shouted at them.

The light switched off, which made him grin and nod, not many people would argue with an air raid warden, especially not when their light was bright enough to lure the Nazis to them.

~8~

The three Daleks watched as the Progenitor device continued to run, unwilling to turn away or depart from that room, unwilling to risk their last effort at restoring their proud empire fail, "The final phase commences, channel all reserve power to Progenitor," the first Dalek reported.

The TARDIS materialized in a storage room behind them and they immediately turned their top halves, detecting it not only in the spike in Artron Energy on their readings but by the noise. Their eyestalks stopped, seeing the Doctor emerge from the box with Angel just slightly behind him, the man rubbing his hands together, "How about that cuppa now, then?" he smiled.

"It is the Doctor and the Angel! Exterminate!"

"Wait, wait, wait, I wouldn't if I were you!" he pulled out a little, yellow, round button with a red middle, "Had Angel whip up a TARDIS self-destruct. And you know what that means. Our ship...my ship goes, you all go with it."

~oOo~

_"We're in space," Angel said gently, putting a hand on Donna's shoulder, something in her just told her to be kind to the woman, not to shout at her. While the woman was loud herself and defensive and upset, it was understandable, but...she could tell there was something more to it, something that ran deeper, "Outer space."_

_"This is my...well, I suppose our," he smiled at Angel, "Spaceship."_

_"I like that," Angel commented, "OUR spaceship. Our TARDIS."_

_He just reached out and took her hand from Donna's shoulder, holding it in his own, squeezing it lightly as his thumb stroked her knuckles. Technically the TARDIS had become theirs the moment Angel had bonded to it in the TARDIS after Christmas. But to say it, out loud, that it was THEIR home...his hearts felt like they were going to burst._

~oOo~

He held the button up higher, "You want to risk that?"

"You would not use such a device," the second Dalek twitched.

"Try me," he challenged, when the first Dalek began to roll forwards, "Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah," he stepped up as well, moving just a little in front of Angel, something in him not letting him risk her around the Daleks, "No scans! No nothing! One move and I'll destroy us all, you got that? TARDIS bang-bang, Daleks boom!" it rolled back, "Good boy," he glanced at Angel, handing her the device to hold onto so he could look back at the instrument panels now that she had a bit more protection against them with his back turned, "This ship's pretty beaten up, running on empty, I'd say, like you. When we last met, you were at the end of your rope. Angel stopped you."

He smiled at that, that had been an event. He remembered being locked in a holding field, Rose Tyler in the cell next to him, Davros before them both, with the Daleks surrounding them. His other companions and Mickey and Jackie had been there, all of them alarmed, all of them believing that the Universe would be destroyed, when the TARDIS appeared and another him ran out, shortly followed by Donna when he'd been attacked. Donna had been hurt, Davros about to commence his plans again, when Angel appeared. She'd accessed the Vortex, which was good, she'd been dying he recalled. He'd tried to help her, being a doctor, of course he would. But she had been about to die, till the Vortex kicked in along with her regeneration. She was able to stop the Daleks and regenerate, which was fantastic. It would have been terrible to be the last of the Time Lords again.

Angel was nice, she was fun to have around, and her abilities made her a great asset on his adventures. It had been a hard year, to watch her dying like she had been, oddly enough, looking back on it thought, it felt like it hadn't been that long at all. Like it was all just a blur, which was understandable as it was a terrible time and not one anyone would want to remember in detail. It had been good that Donna was there, the ginger woman was always there for Angel, helping him take care of her. Still, there was no point in dwelling on it now, Angel was just fine and healthy again.

"One ship survived," first Dalek said, pulling his attention back.

"And you fell back through time, yes? Crippled? Dying?"

"We picked up a trace," the second replied, "One of the Progenitor devices."

"Progenitor? What's that when it's at home?"

"It is our past. And our future."

"Oh, that's deep," the Doctor glanced at Angel, "That is deep for a Dalek," he frowned though, seeing her shifting uncomfortably, but he understood he supposed, she didn't have the best experience with Daleks, not that anyone really did, but that was fine. He'd take care of everything and they'd be fine, he had a thing in mind and he doubted the Daleks would one-up him, "What does it mean, though?" he turned back to them.

"It contains pure Dalek DNA, thousands were created, all were lost, save one," the third said.

"Ok, but there's still one thing I don't get, though, if you've got the Progenitor, why build Bracewell?"

"It was...necessary," the second began.

"But why?" and then he smiled, working it out, "I get it. Oh, I get it! I get it. Oh, ho, this is rich!" he started laughing, "The Progenitor wouldn't recognize you, would it? It saw you as impure, the DNA is unrecognizable as Dalek."

"A solution was devised."

"Yes, yes, yes. Me. My testimony. So you set a trap, you knew that the Progenitor would recognize me, well, us. One of the Daleks' greatest enemies! It would accept my word or Angel's. Our recognition of you."

"You are incorrect," the third Dalek stated.

"Really?" he scoffed, "About what sweetheart?"

"The abomination's testimony would be rejected!"

The Doctor frowned at that word, he remembered Angel being called it quite a few times by the Daleks, and every time, every single time it always bothered him, even more so when Rassilon had called her one as well. Angel was nothing like an abomination. She was kind and sweet and compassionate and always trying to help. So what if she had the Vortex inside her? She had proven that it wouldn't corrupt her. She had proven she had enough control over it to keep it from hurting people, and she used it to _help_ , to save lives. If that was abominable then the Universe had gone mad and needed to buy a better dictionary.

Just as he was about to counter to that, he noticed the second Dalek turn to a set of controls behind it, so he quickly reached out to Angel and took her hand holding the device, pulling her over to him and holding it out, both their hands on it as she had been too shocked by the sudden move to let go. He inhaled sharply at a...familiar scent striking his nose...unsure of where he could place it, but...it was nice, made him feel warm...fuzzy, but in a good way, in a very nice way really. He looked over, his eyes connecting with Angel's as her grey eyes, really quite...quite lovely, like...liquid silver...stared back into his. They were standing close together, they had to be, he hadn't let go of her hand and they were both holding the device with their right hands, her back was to his front and...for one brief moment...he felt a sense of familiarity of the position. His left arm twitched, as though wanting to wrap around her waist and pull her closer...

Before he snapped his head to the Daleks, shaking it, having no idea where that sudden wave of emotion had come from, it was...unsettling, he shouldn't be feeling that for Angel. He...he _didn't_ feel that for Angel. She was a friend. Yes. A good friend, his mate...he winced at the word...his friend, his very good friend, a fellow Time Lord, and that was it.

Angel closed her eyes a moment, hearing his inner monologue about her, and let go of the button, stepping away from the Doctor so he wouldn't be so...she didn't know the word, awkward and uncomfortable around her? It should have stopped hurting by now, shouldn't it? Shouldn't she have been numb to the pain by now? That was how it worked wasn't it? You got hurt so often that you were able to ignore the pain, that you couldn't feel it? Granted it hadn't been that long since she'd realized what had happened to the Doctor and what he thought of her now, but it had hurt more than anything. Shouldn't that have stopped, faded, dulled? Anything? She swallowed, she knew the answer to that. No. Not it hadn't. And no it wouldn't. As long as she loved the Doctor it would still hurt each and every time he denied her and how close they'd been.

And that was the catch wasn't it? As long as she loved him it would hurt, and she was sure, not even needing any of her abilities to know, that she would always love him.

"No, no, no," the Doctor shook his head, whether at his thoughts or at the Daleks she wasn't sure, but she opened her eyes and he was looking at the Daleks again, "What are you doing?"

"Withdraw now, Doctor, or the city dies in flames," the third called.

"Who are you kidding? This ship is a wreck, you don't have the power to destroy London."

"Watch as the humans destroy themselves," the second Dalek placed a sucker on the controls, and the ship lowered a dish towards the Earth, sending out a stream of energy.

~8~

The warden watched, stunned, as the lights came on _all over the city_ , "What the…no!"

~8~

"The generators won't switch off!" an officer cried in the war room, trying to switch off the lights that had come on all over the place, every single one, "The lights are on all across London, Prime Minister!"

"Has to be them," Amy said, "Has to be the Daleks."

"The Germans can see every inch of the city!" Winston gasped, "We're sitting ducks. Get those lights out before the Germans get here!" the officer ran to check the generators.

"Confirm, Squadron 244 and 56 mobilized," a woman called into a headset.

"Emergency, emergency, 109?" Breen called into the radio, "109, confirm?"

"Thousands will die if we don't get those lights out now," Winston remarked.

Breen swallowed as reports came through, "German bombers sighted over the Channel, sir. ETA 10 minutes, sir."

"Here they come. Get a message to Mr. Attlee. War Cabinet meeting at 0300, if we're all still here."

"We can't just sit here!" Amy shouted, "We've got to take the fight to the Daleks!"

"How? None of our weapons are a match for theirs."

"Oh, look, we must have something!" and then she blinked, "Oh! Staring us in the face! A gift! From the Daleks!"

~8~

"Turn those lights off now!" the Doctor yelled as Angel looked around, trying to find something that could help stop the Daleks or turn the lights off, "Turn London off or I swear I will use the TARDIS self-destruct!"

"Stalemate, Doctor," the second Dalek called his bluff, "Leave us, and return to Earth."

"Oh, that's it? That's your great victory? You leave?"

"Extinction is not an option. We shall return to our own time and begin again."

"No, no, no! I won't let you get away this time! I _won't_!"

Every time they did, it just hurt him all the more later, it always got worse, every time he faced the Daleks something more was lost.

There was a mechanical burst of noise and a soft humming began behind them, "We have succeeded!" the third Dalek cried, "DNA reconstruction is complete."

The Daleks glided back from the cubicle which was enveloped in red energy. The doors slid open, sparking, "Observe, Doctor, Angel, a new Dalek paradigm!" the second Dalek shouted as new, larger Daleks emerged from the smoke and steam, each in a different color, white, blue, yellow, orange, and red, "The Progenitor has fulfilled our new destiny. Behold, the restoration of the Daleks! The resurrection of the master race!"

~8~

Bracewell held a revolver in his good hand, about to place it to his head, when Amy and Winston ran into the lab, "Bracewell!" Winston cried, alarmed, "Put the gun down!"

"My life is a lie, and I choose to end it," he wept, his whole life up in flames, he was nothing more than a Dalek pawn, because of him a new war was about to be waged, one much worse than that against the Germans.

"In your own time, Paisley boy," Amy moved to stand next to him, "Because right now we need your help."

"But those creatures...my Ironsides…they made me? I...I can remember things, so many things. The last war…the squalor and the mud and the awful, awful misery of it all. What am I? What am I?"

"What you are, sir, is either on our side, or theirs," Winston replied, "Now, I don't give a damn if you're a machine, Bracewell...are you a man?"

"Listen to me," Amy gently took the gun from him, "I understand. Really, I do. Look, there is a spaceship up there lighting up London like a Christmas tree. Thousands of people will die tonight if we don't stop it, and you're the only one who can help take it down."

"I am?"

"You're alien technology. You're as clever as the Daleks are, so start thinking! What about rockets? You got rockets? 'Cos you said gravity whatsits, hypersonic flight, some kind of missile."

"This isn't a fireworks party, Miss Pond!" Winston chastised, "We need proper tactical...a missile...or..."

"Or what?"

"We could send something up there, you say?"

"With a gravity bubble, yes," Bracewell nodded, showing Winston his plans, "Theoretically it's possible we could actually send something into space."

"Bracewell...it's time to think big!"

~8~

"All hail the new Daleks!" the first Dalek cheered as the three Daleks moved back, standing before the new Daleks, in between them and the Time Lords, "All hail the new Daleks!"

"Yes, you are inferior!" the White Dalek stated, in a slightly deeper, more menacing voice.

"Yes."

"Then prepare."

"We are ready!" they said.

"Cleanse the unclean! Total obliteration! Disintegrate!"

The Blue Dalek took out the first and third Dalek while the Red Dalek shot the second one.

"Blimey, what do you do to the ones who mess up?" the Doctor asked.

"You are the Doctor and the Angel!" the White Dalek swiveled its eyestalk to look at them, "You must be exterminated!"

The Doctor held out the device, grabbing Angel's arm to instinctively pull her a little behind him, "Don't mess with me, sweetheart!"

~8~

Breen and the others were on the radio headphones, maneuvering the squadrons across a board while dust fell from the ceiling, the city above being bombed, "Advancing bombers approaching in strike formation," a voice over a speaker called, "Incendiary bombs have hit the East End of London."

Bracewell, his arm in a sling, entered the war room with a device on a wheeled office chair, a homemade headset on his head, "At last!" Winston cried, "Are they ready?"

"I hope so," he nodded, "But in the meantime..." he placed the device on the desk, a screen with control knobs, "This will pick up Dalek transmissions," he slapped the side and the Doctor, Angel, and the White Dalek appeared on the small black and white screen.

"We are the paradigm of a new Dalek Race," the White Dalek stated.

"It's them!" Amy shouted, "It's the Doctor and Angel!"

"Scientist, Strategist, Drone, Eternal, and the Supreme."

"Which would be you, I'm guessing?" the Doctor looked at the White Dalek, as Angel glanced over, almost looking like she could see them she was staring right at them, before she turned her head back to face the Daleks, "Well, you know, nice paint job. I'd be feeling pretty swish if I looked like you. Pretty 'Supre-eme.'"

"They've got company," Amy frowned, "New company. We've got to hurry up!"

A phone rang and Bracewell answered it, "Yes? Right. Right, thanks!" he hung up, "Ready when you are, Prime Minister."

"Splendid!" Winston cheered.

"Spaceship's exact coordinates located!"

"Go to it, Group Captain!" he gave the order, "Go to it!"

"Broadsword to Danny Boy!" the captain called to the team, "Broadsword to Danny Boy! Scramble! Scramble! Scramble!"

~8~

"Question is, what do we do now?" the Doctor continued, "Either you turn off your clever machine or I'll blow you and your new paradigm into eternity."

"And yourselves," the White Dalek stated.

The Doctor tensed at that, his grip on Angel's arm tightening a bit at the thought, before he shrugged, "Occupational hazard."

"Scan reveals nothing!" the Blue Dalek reported, "TARDIS self-destruct device nonexistent!"

"Alright," the Doctor bit the cookie in his hand, "It's a Jammie Dodger, but I was promised tea!"

"Brilliant!" Angel shouted suddenly, a wide grin on her face.

The Doctor looked at her a moment, confused as to what she was so happy about, when a siren sounded.

"Alert!" the Blue Dalek turned to a scanner, "Unidentified projectile approaching!" the Doctor glanced at a second scanner, "Correction. Multiple projectiles!"

"What have the humans done?" the White asked.

"I don't know," the Doctor said, looking at Angel, who was beaming.

"Been their brilliant old selves," Angel cheered.

"Explain!" the White demanded, "Explain! Explain!"

"Danny Boy to the Doctor!" a pilot called over the speaker, "Danny Boy to the Doctor! Are you receiving me? Over."

"Oh, Winston!" the Doctor laughed, "You beauty!"

Angel ran to a window, looking out as RAF fighter plane attacked the Dalek ship.

"Danny Boy to the Doctor! Come in. Over."

"Loud and clear, Danny Boy! Big dish, side of the ship, blow it up! Over!"

"Exterminate the Doctor!" the White shouted.

Angel ran back to him, grabbing his arm and pulling him to the TARDIS just ahead of the Dalek fire, a golden wall appearing behind them to keep them safe as they ran.

~8~

"You heard him, Group Captain!" Winston called, "Target that dish! Send in all we've got!"

Amy watched the action on the screen, "4-4 to Danny Boy, target the dish and stop that signal," the captain ordered.

"Over. Understood, sir. Over," the pilot replied, "You can count on us! Over."

"Oh, good luck, lads!" a woman called.

~8~

"Ok, chaps, let's put London back under cover of darkness," the pilot called over the speaker, "Tally ho!" the squadron began to fire at the Dalek ship and the dish, "Cover my back, going in close!" but the Dalek ship fired back, "Pull out, pull out!"

One of the planes was shot down.

~8~

Everyone gathered around the screen, watching the events, listening in, "We've lost Jubilee, sir!" the pilot reported, "Over."

Breen looked on in worry.

"Beam still active, sir," the group captain added.

"Then send them in again!" Winston shouted.

~8~

The planes regrouped and attacked again, only to be attacked in return, "'Flintlock's down sir, and the dish seems to be protected. Over."

~8~

"Shields intact, pulse still active," the Blue Dalek reported.

~8~

"Danny Boy to the Doctor...only me left now," a voice spoke over the speaker of the TARDIS, "Anything you can do, sir? Over."

The Doctor picked up a small microphone and spoke into it while Angel ran to set the controls, having a better idea of what the TARDIS could do and what had to be done to get there, "The Doctor to Danny Boy...the Doctor to Danny Boy. We can disrupt the Dalek shields, but not for long. Over."

"Good show, Doctor, go to it. Over. Going in, wish me luck. Over."

~8~

Danny Boy went in for one last approach as the Doctor joined Angel in frantically working the controls.

~8~

"Shields deactivated!" the Yellow Dalek called as Danny Boy destroyed the beam.

"Energy pulse destroyed!" the Red reported.

~8~

"Direct hit, sir!" he pilot called to the war room and everyone burst out into cheers as the lights dimmed around them, half of them going off.

~8~

The warden watched as the lights went back out and sighed in relief, "Thank the Lord!" he raised his fist to the sky, "Do your worst, Adolf!"

~8~

Angel smiled, hearing the report that the dish had been destroyed...when her grin began to fade...

'... _Bracewell is a bomb_...'

... _a circular pad divided into five sections on Bracewell's chest glowed blue, but then one turned yellow_...

'... _it's not working, I can't stop it!_...'

Angel shook her head, oh that was _not_ good...

"Danny Boy to the Doctor...going in for another attack," Danny Boy called over the speaker.

"The Doctor to Danny Boy," the Doctor grinned, "The Doctor to Danny Boy. Destroy this ship! Over."

"What about you, Doctor?"

"We'll be ok."

"Doctor," Angel called as the White Dalek appeared on the monitor.

"Doctor!" it shouted, "Call off your attack!"

"Ah ha, what? And let you scuttle off back to the future? No fear. This is the end for you. The final end!"

"Call off the attack, or we will destroy the Earth."

"I'm not stupid, mate! You've just played your last card!"

"Bracewell is a bomb."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like the little Thella moment? :) Completely ruined by the Doctor...sorry to have gotten your hopes up and then ripped your hearts out moments later }:) Lol, I'm so evil ^-^ But next chapter we get another Angel-theory :)


	10. Victory of the Daleks: The Bomb

"You're bluffing," the Doctor shook his head at the Dalek, "Deception's second nature to you. There isn't a sincere bone in your body. There isn't a bone in your body! There..."

"Doctor…" Angel breathed, cutting in gently, and he looked over at her, "They're not bluffing," she told him, hoping he'd believe her. Had he still been able to read her mind she could have showed him the vision she'd had, of the panel on Bracewell's chest, of himself crying out that he couldn't stop the bomb. But he couldn't hear her, his mind had completely blocked her out, she could hear him, yes, but the reverse wasn't true.

The Doctor, however, seemed to believe her as his eyes widened in horror. Well, she supposed he would believe her, Rule Two and all. She didn't lie, she wasn't a fan of it, she didn't like doing it, it always felt wrong to her. She would rather be honest than fake. She wouldn't lie about this, not about the Daleks.

"His power is derived from an Oblivion Continuum!" the White stated and the Doctor looked back at the screen in alarm, "Call off your attack, or we will detonate the android."

"No!" he glared, "This is our best chance ever! The last of the Daleks! We can rid the Universe of you, once and for all!"

"Then do it. But we will shatter the planet below! The Earth will die screaming!"

"And if we let you go, you'll be stronger than ever. A new race of Daleks."

"Then choose, Doctor! Destroy the Daleks or save the Earth. Begin countdown of Oblivion Continuum!" it ordered another Dalek, a countdown appearing on the screen, "Choose, Doctor! Choose! Choose!"

The Doctor looked at Angel, who could only look at him sadly, closing her eyes a moment and taking a breath, before she picked up the microphone, making the decision for them, "The Angel to Danny Boy. The Angel to Danny Boy. Retreat."

"Say again, ma'am," Danny Boy replied, sounding unsure of whether to follow her orders over the Doctor's, "Over."

"Retreat," she repeated, looking at the Doctor as he solemnly stared at her, "Go back to Earth. Over and out."

"But…"

"There's no time," the Doctor took the radio, giving the order himself, feeling something flash in him at Angel being ignored by someone else, he didn't like it, her opinion and direction should be given just as much say as his, "You have to return to Earth now! Over!"

Angel ran to the other side of the console and set the coordinates for Earth as Danny Boy retreated. She swallowed hard, knowing what she'd just done...she'd done for the Doctor. To choose between the Earth or the Daleks...he wouldn't be able to make it, he wouldn't be able to live with himself afterwards. If he went to Earth and the bomb went off, then he'd lost Earth and the Daleks, even then going to Earth meant losing the Daleks. If he went after the Daleks, the Earth would be destroyed, and there was no saying the Daleks would even be finished too. So she'd made the decision for him, she would deal with the consequences of whatever happened, if they lost the Daleks because she picked the Earth.

Her family was on Earth, Rose and Jack and the 9th Doctor could be out there right at that moment, and even then, Rose's family, her grandparents were probably out there, along with Martha's and Donna's and Mickey's. If London was destroyed, their past would be rewritten. And she refused to do that, she refused to lose anyone else, to leave them as just memories in her head. So she'd made her choice, and she knew, whatever happened, it would be on her head.

But at least the Doctor hadn't had to decide, at least it wouldn't be on his already burdened conscious.

~8~

The TARDIS materialized in the storage room of the secret Cabinet base, barely completely solid when the Doctor bolted out of the doors, running out of the room just as Angel stepped out and closed the doors behind her, following after him, her mind racing at if the bomb would be stopped. The vision had cut out too suddenly, all she knew was the Doctor struggled to stop it, might not have in the end even. She didn't know if it would go off or if it was a false bomb or a ploy (though she doubted it) or if they'd stop it. She had to try and help.

But what could she possibly do? How could she help stop it if _the Doctor_ hadn't been able to?

~8~

"The Doctor and his Mate have failed," the White Dalek turned to his soldiers, "Their compassion is their greatest weakness. Daleks have no such weakness."

~8~

The Doctor ran into the war rooms, not bothering to say anything to anyone or even explain what was going on as he swiftly punched Bracewell in the face, knocking him to the ground before shaking his hand in pain.

"Doctor!" Amy shouted, startled and alarmed at the violent and sudden action. She knew that Bracewell was Dalek technology but that was no reason for the man to be hit or attacked!

"Ow!" the Doctor cried, "Sorry," he looked around, apologizing for his behavior before looking down at Bracewell, "Professor, you're a bomb! An inconceivably _massive_ Dalek bomb."

"What?" Bracewell gaped, his eyes wide.

"There's an Oblivion Continuum inside you, a captured wormhole that provides perpetual power," the Doctor explained as Angel finally reached the room, having nearly tripped in the hallway. She took only a moment to see the man on the ground, the fear in his eyes, before she ran over and knelt beside him, "Detonate that, and the Earth will bleed through into another dimension!" the Doctor knelt on the man's other side, pulling out the sonic and opening Bracewell's shirt, "Now keep down!" he flashed the screwdriver over it, opening it to reveal the mechanics underneath the skin.

Bracewell tensed at the sight so Angel took his hand, squeezing it to try and reassure him.

~8~

"Detonation sequence activated," the White ordered, "Time corridor establishing..."

"Time jump in thirty rels!" the Blue called.

~8~

A circular pad divided into five sections on Bracewell's chest glowed blue, but then one turned yellow, and they all knew that had to be the start of the countdown to the bomb exploding.

"Well?" Amy shifted nervously.

"I dunno, I dunno, I dunno!" the Doctor fiddled with the sonic, "Never seen one up close before!"

"I've never even _heard_ of one," Angel remarked lightly. That wasn't really all that shocking to her though. She was trying harder to remember things, to learn things and be useful beyond just fixing the TARDIS or having visions, but she truly couldn't remember if she'd ever heard of something like that before. She didn't have the faintest idea of how to help.

"So, what, they've wired him up to detonate?" Amy shook her head.

"Not wired him up!" the Doctor countered, "He is a bomb. Walking, talking," he made an exploding noise, "Exploding! The moment that flashes red."

"There's...a blue wire or something you have to cut, isn't there? There's always a blue wire," the Doctor stood, "Or a red one."

"You're not helping!" and then he spun around, "Angel!" he pointed at her, "You diffused the bomb in Jack!"

Angel frowned, "But that was a separate bomb," she shook her head, "The bomb is Bracewell, Bracewell is the bomb. If I do that now, it'll kill him too!"

And the man was still alive. A robot yes, but he had thoughts, he had consciousness, he had memories and feelings and emotions and she _couldn't_ do that to him. And there was no saying that shutting him down would stop the bomb, it would just make the man realize he was a bomb and make him think he was only a bomb. She didn't want to do that...she didn't like death, she didn't like people dying, but equally she did not EVER want to be the cause of that death. She had fought in the War, yes, she'd fired at Daleks, and she'd likely killed a few. But she _hated_ it, every moment of it. She didn't ever want to do that again, no matter what, no matter the species or the danger.

She was starting to think the Dalek in Van Statten's had been accurate in what he'd called her, in what she was called in the Dalek Prophecies, the Life Bringer. If she was that, she couldn't be the thing that brought death.

"It's incredible," Winston remarked, "He talked to us about his memories. The Great War..."

The Doctor tossed the sonic from hand to hand, thinking, as Angel squeezed Bracewell's hand, seeing the man growing more alarmed and scared at all their talk, "Someone else's stolen thoughts, implanted in a positronic brain. Tell me about it. Bracewell! Tell me about your life!" he knelt back down.

"Doctor, I really don't think this is the time!" Bracewell cried.

"Tell me and prove you're human. Tell me everything."

~8~

"Countdown proceeding," the White Dalek reported.

~8~

The first yellow section turned red, the second slowly turning yellow as Bracewell began to speak, "My family ran the Post Office. It's a little place just near the abbey. Just by the ash trees. There used to be eight trees but...but there was a storm..."

"And your parents?" the Doctor encouraged, trying to think of the most human emotions, the most human bonds, "Come on! Tell me!"

"Good people. Kind people. They...they died. Scarlet fever."

"What was that like? How did it feel?"

"Please..."

"Doctor…" Angel began softly, shaking her head.

This felt...wrong. This wasn't right, this wasn't the right way to go about doing this. It hurt Bracewell to think of them, it devastated him, she could...she could swear she almost felt the man's pain. Couldn't the Doctor see that all it would do was make him more upset? It would make him not want to be human, it would make him want to be the bomb, because if he wasn't real then the memories weren't either and it wasn't real pain. She understood all too well what it felt like to not want the pain.

The Doctor, though, just waved his hand, cutting her off, she'd admitted just a moment ago that she hadn't heard of the sort of bomb in Bracewell before, she wouldn't know how to stop it, "How did it make you feel, Edwin? Tell me! Tell me now!"

"It hurt," he breathed, tears in his eyes, "It hurts, Doctor, so badly. Like a wound," the second section was red, the third yellow, "It was worse than a wound. Like I'd been emptied out. There was nothing."

Angel squeezed his hand tighter, so tight both their hands were turning white as he returned it just as much.

"Good. Remember it now, Edwin! The ash trees by the Post Office and your mum and dad and losing them and men in the trenches you saw die...remember it! Feel it, because you're human," the third section was red, "You're not like them. You are not like the Daleks!"

"It hurts! Doctor, it hurts so much!" the man started to cry, actual tears pooling in his eyes.

Angel's eyes filled with tears at his pain as well, this was torture. Why couldn't the Doctor see his plan wasn't working and stop?

"Good! Good! Good! Brilliant! Embrace it," the fourth section went red, "That means you're alive! They cannot explode that bomb, you're a Human Being! You are flesh and blood! They cannot explode that bomb! Believe it! You are professor Edwin Bracewell! And you, my friend, are a Human Being!" the last section turned yellow, "It's not working, I can't stop it!"

Angel bit her lip, her hearts breaking for the man, just wanting him to feel comforted, to not be sad, to be happy and smile again. And there was only one thing she could think of that could do that, "Bracewell?" she called softly, reaching out to stroke the man's hair comfortingly with her other hand, "Have you ever been in love?" Amy looked at her sharply, hearing a crack in her voice, "I mean, really, truly loved someone, with your whole heart…but then…you lost them? To distance or to someone else or just…things getting in the way?"

"W...what?" Bracewell stared at her.

"And it hurts, doesn't it?" Angel continued, the last section _staying_ yellow, "But kind of a good hurt. Because…at least you had them for a while. Or, maybe they didn't even know you loved them. But that feeling, that love," she gave a sad smile, "Have you ever felt that?"

It hurt, it hurt _so badly_ to love the Doctor and have him look through her. But the thing was, she wouldn't have changed the past for anything. Not a thing. She loved the Doctor and every moment she'd spent with him before his last regeneration was treasured, was beautiful. She realized she had been honest when she'd spoken of the Star Whale, she would not give up the pain for anything. Because to not feel pain now meant that she wouldn't have felt anything at all, she wouldn't be able to feel the love she'd felt then, she wouldn't be able to think of how she felt at that moment, so loved. It was the best feeling in the world, to be loved and to love someone else, truly the most powerful thing in the Universe.

If anything could stop a Dalek bomb, it was love.

"I really shouldn't talk about her…" Bracewell whispered.

"Please," Angel said as the last section turned blue, "Tell me about her. What's her name?"

"Dorabella," he smiled.

"Dorabella?" she smiled as well, sniffling as she held back tears, "That is a brilliant name, she must have been a beautiful person, a name like that. Wasn't she?"

"Oh...such a smile," he began dreamily, "And her eyes...her eyes were so blue...almost violet. Like the last touch of sunset on the edge of the world...Dorabella..."

Angel wiped a tear away as all the sections reverted back to blue as Bracewell spoke and thought of his beloved.

~8~

"Oblivion Continuum...inactive," the Blue Dalek reported as their own circular device turned white.

"Impossible!" the White cried.

"Time jump imminent! Prepare!"

~8~

"Welcome to the Human Race," the Doctor smiled at Bracewell before glancing at Angel to see her sniffling, trying to hold in the rest of her tears, likely feeling for Bracewell's pain.

He should have expected this, really he should have, wouldn't have even needed to be Angel to do it too. She'd always had such a...human quality to her, even more so in her last body. This one was like...a Time Lady, more like a Time Lady at least, but still with all the best traits of humanity, odd though it was as they weren't human at all. She'd always been able to connect with the companions more, comfort others, understand them even if she didn't understand other things. He should have known that she'd work out what to say to help Bracewell, that was what she did.

"You're brilliant," he told her softly before standing up, "Now, gotta stop them! Stop the Daleks!"

He turned and ran out of the room as Bracewell cried out, "Wait! Doctor! Wait...wait," Angel helped him sit up, "It's too late."

~8~

"You will never defeat us, Doctor, we will return!" the White remarked as they flew past the moon.

"We will return!" Blue cheered, the other Daleks picking up the chant.

~8~

"Gone," Bracewell frowned, rubbing his chest, "They've gone."

"No, no, no!" the Doctor shook his head, turning to him, "They can't! They can't have got away from me again!"

"No, I can feel it, my mind is clear," he squeezed Angel's hand as she helped him to his feet in silence, "The Daleks have gone."

The Doctor leaned heavily against a pole, his energy gone, "Doctor," Amy tried to reassure him, "It's ok! You did it. You stopped the bomb. Doctor?"

"There was a choice," he whispered, "And they knew the Earth would be chosen. The Daleks have won. They beat us. They've won."

"But the _Earth_ was _saved_. Not too shabby, is it?" he looked up at Winston and the people in the room, smiling at him, "Is it?"

"No," he began to smile, "It's not too shabby."

"It's a brilliant achievement, my dear friend," Winston cheered, "Here, have a cigar!"

"No..." the Doctor shook his head, laughing a bit.

No one, it seemed, save Amy, saw Angel slowly step back from the crowd and make her way out of the room in tears. She frowned, watching the woman step past the door, deeply concerned for her friend. When she'd been speaking to Bracewell, she'd heard it, there was a similar pain in her voice as the one she was describing to the man. But she recognized those tears, they were the tears of someone who needed to be alone for a moment and so, she stayed with the Doctor, distracting him, giving Angel the moment she needed to gather herself again.

~8~

The warden and a group of marines raised the Union flag the next morning, a show of strength and survival.

~8~

"So, what now, then?" Amy asked as she sat in the war rooms across from Winston, Angel beside her, leaning on the map table, her arms crossed, distracted and quiet.

"I still have a war to run, Miss Pond," he replied.

"Prime Minister," a woman handed him a document.

"Oh, thank you," he read it, "They hit the Palace and St. Paul's again. Fire crews only just saved it."

Amy looked at Angel to see her gaze had been pulled over her shoulder and followed it to where Breen was crying, another woman speaking to her sadly, "Is she ok?" Amy asked.

"What?" Winston looked up.

"She looks very upset."

"Oh, Miss Breen? Her young man didn't make it, I'm afraid. Just got word. Shot down over the Channel."

Angel frowned at that and Amy watched as she pushed off the table and went to the back of the room, speaking quietly to Breen before she hugged the woman tightly, Breen crying on her shoulder. She felt a bit...bad...that she hadn't thought to do that. The woman had just lost someone she loved dearly and was devastated and unable to try and mourn him with the war on. But there was Angel, ignoring all that, trying her best to comfort the woman in question. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose someone you loved like that, though...she got the feeling Angel did, and if she was right then Angel was just what Breen needed at the moment, an empathetic soul.

She sighed as Angel led Breen out of the room and looked around it, "Where's the Doctor?"

"Tying up loose ends," the Doctor grinned, walking in, "I've taken out all the alien tech Bracewell put in."

"Won't you reconsider, Doctor?" Winston asked, "Those Spitfires would win me the war in 24 hours!"

"Exactly," he picked up a tea cup and sipped it, letting the tea fall back out of his mouth and into the cup as he sat on the table beside Amy.

"But why not? Why can't we put an end to all this misery?"

"Oh, it doesn't work like that, Winston. It's gonna be tough. There are terrible days to come. The darkest days. But you can do it. You know you can."

"Stay with us, and help us win through! The world needs you."

"The world doesn't need me."

"No?"

"The world's got Winston Spencer Churchill," he made the victory sign.

"It's been a pleasure, as always."

"Too right," he hugged him.

"Goodbye, Doctor."

"Oh, shall we say adieu?"

Winston pulled away, "Indeed. Goodbye, Miss Pond."

"It's…it's been amazing," Amy said, "Meeting you."

"I'm sure it has!" he laughed as Amy gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Oi, Churchill!" Amy called as he turned to leave, holding out her hand to him, as though SHE wanted something this time, "TARDIS key. The one you just took from the Doctor."

The Doctor spit out his tea with a cough, nearly choking on it, before he patted himself down, searching for the key.

"Oh, she's good, Doctor," Winston chuckled, handing her over the key, "As sharp as a pin! Almost as sharp as me!" he puffed on his cigar, "KBO!" and turned to leave.

A moment later the Doctor held out his hand and Amy gave him back the key.

~8~

Bracewell stood solemnly in his office, waiting for the inevitable, now wearing a leather glove over the stump that was his hand, "I've been expecting you, Doctor," Bracewell said as the Doctor and Amy entered, "I knew this moment had to come."

"Moment?" the Doctor asked.

"It's time to deactivate me."

"Is it?" he turned at Amy, "Oh...yeah."

"You have no choice," he faced them, "I'm Dalek technology. Can't allow me to go pottering around down here where I have no business."

"No, you're dead right, Professor. 100 percent right. And by the time I get back here in...what," he glanced at Amy, "Ten minutes?"

"More like 15," she supplied.

"Fifteen minutes, yeah. That's exactly what I'm going to do. You are going to be so deactivated. It's going be like you've never even been...activated."

"Yeah."

"15 minutes?" Bracewell repeated.

"More like 20, if I'm honest," he shrugged, "Once Pond, Angel, and I see to the urgent thing…"

"Yes!" Amy nodded.

"…we've got to see to. The...the...see?"

"Very well, Doctor," Bracewell swallowed hard, "I shall wait here and prepare myself."'

"That Dalek tech's a little bit slow on the uptake," Amy whispered to the Doctor before turning to Bracewell, speaking more emphasizingly, "That thing we've got to do. Gonna take half an hour, realistically, isn't it, Doctor?"

"Easily!" he smiled, "So no running off, that's what I'm saying," he pointed at Bracewell, giving him a look, "Don't go trying to find that little Post Office with the ash trees or that girl...what was her name?"

"Dorabella," Bracewell said, slowly catching on to what they were trying to say.

"Dorabella. On no account go looking for her. Mind you, you can get a lot done in half an hour."

He grinned widely, realizing what the Doctor was doing, "Thank you, thank you, Doctor!"

"Come along, Pond!" the Doctor cheered, motioning Amy on as they turned and left, Bracewell packing a suitcase.

~8~

"You alright?" Amy asked Angel as she and the Doctor approached her standing by the TARDIS, leaning around a small flag and looking at the wall behind it.

"Yeah," she spun around, the tears gone, though her voice sounded a little thick, "Fine."

Amy nodded, eyeing her a moment before looking around with a sigh, "So…you have enemies then?"

"Everyone's got enemies," the Doctor shrugged.

"Yeah, but mine's the woman outside Budgens with the mental Jack Russell. You've got, like, you know, archenemies."

"Suppose so."

"And here's me thinking we'd just be running through time, being daft, and fixing stuff. But no, it's dangerous."

"Yup. Very. Is that a problem?"

"I'm still here, aren't I?" she gave him a look as they fell silent, Angel shifting, her gaze sneaking back to the flag, "You're worried about the Daleks."

"I'm always worried about the Daleks."

"It'll take time, though, won't it? There's still not many of them. They'll need a while to build themselves up."

"It's not that. There's something else. Something we've forgotten. Or rather you have."

"Me?"

"You didn't know who the Daleks were Amy," Angel explained softly, putting a hand on the girl's arm, "You should have seen them before, when they invaded Earth, you had to have, but...you haven't."

The Doctor nodded and entered the TARDIS, Amy following after him along with Angel, but, as the TARDIS disappeared, a small crack could be seen on the wall behind it, a white light spilling out of it.

~8~

Angel knelt down by the console, working on something under one of the panels while the Doctor sat on the jump seat, having been ordered there when he'd tried to 'fix' something and ended up cutting off the power to half the controls.

"Angel…" he began softly, watching her with concern.

"Yes?" she called, working on twisting two wires together.

"What you said to Bracewell…"

"What about it?" she stiffened a bit, hesitating a moment to ask.

"Has that happened to you? Did you lose someone?"

She swallowed hard, "Yeah."

"Someone on Gallifrey? During the war?" he paused, "Someone you loved?" it might be why he hadn't been able to connect to Bracewell, to think to use that emotion instead, he couldn't remember ever being in love like that.

"Yeah," she repeated, blinking quickly, trying to keep the tears in her eyes, "Someone from Gallifrey," she looked down at the wires, not really seeing them anymore as she got lost in her thoughts, "He…he was probably one of the only people who wasn't scared of my abilities. He…he treated me like I was special. He was a great man, the best. So kind and curious and mad," she laughed, "God the things we used to get into…" she trailed off, "He would just gob on and on about technology or science or history, damned if I could ever keep up with him, but it didn't matter 'cos, just the sound of his voice…" she smiled, touching her hand a moment, "And, he used to hold my hand when we walked, give me little kisses on the back of it. And he was just…so understanding, he felt _so much_ for others even though he felt so sad inside. He…he used to call me his angel, his guardian angel, his guiding light…" she glanced over at the Doctor...only to see him looking at her with a sad understanding but nothing more and frowned, "He was the first man I'd ever loved and will probably be the last man I ever love. But…he's gone now," she looked back at the wires, "He's gone and…I don't think he'll ever come back."

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

She quickly wiped the back of her hand under her eye, trying not to let him see how upset she was. She'd found something behind the flag in the Cabinet's secret area, another crack in time, and had been able to get that closer look she needed. It was just like she feared, it was a crack in time and space that was bleeding Time Energy, which had the ability to erase entire things from existence. The small cracks, they were too small to do much damage, you couldn't fit much through them, the larger cracks, if fallen through, would make it like you'd never been born. But the small cracks could be just as dangerous, they could still erase things...like memories.

Like how Amy didn't remember her parents, she'd been sleeping with the crack on her wall for ages.

She'd felt a small stirring of hope, that...that maybe the _cracks_ had had something to do with the Doctor and how he'd forgotten their Mating and all those moments between them. But there were two problems with that theory. In order for the Doctor to have forgotten that much that deeply, he would have had to be exposed to the cracks for quite a long time...and he hadn't. His amnesia had seemed to start right from regeneration, before they'd found the first crack, and she'd been with him, at his side, through it all and SHE hadn't forgotten.

And the second issue...the one she was truly scared might be true though...was that...well, with Donna, the metacrisis had been so powerful that it echoed back to Donna, letting her hear that heartbeat.

What if...what if something happened to _her_ in the future?

What if, at some point, SHE was erased from time? What if that moment was so powerful it was echoing back to the Doctor? He couldn't have Mated to her if she was never born! Mating was the most powerful event on Gallifrey, it made sense that it would be so powerful a moment for it to be erased as to echo back to a time when she was still there. But... _how_? Why _now_? Why _this_ regeneration? His old self and his old old self hadn't reacted like this. She was so confused, she just...she didn't know and now, to have to talk about the Doctor, with him sitting right there, not realizing she was talking about HIM, just...staring through her with pity in his eyes...she couldn't do it.

She gave a final twist to the wires, putting them back in the panel, and shut the door. She pulled herself up and flicked a knob, turning the power back on, "She's all fixed up," she looked at the Doctor, "I'm just…going to go sleep now. Catch up on some."

He nodded, watching her leave the room before sighing, feeling terrible for having brought that up, and stood. He set the controls and piloted them back to the Vortex before leaving as well.

A moment later though, Amy stepped out onto the steps from under the glass floor and frowned. Angel's love, he seemed very familiar…very, _very_ familiar…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm...seems dear Amy is now suspicious of something :) Poor Angel though, to say all that, to describe the Doctor so well...and him not even have an inkling that it's HIM :(
> 
> I really wanted Angel to be the one to connect to Bracewell and stop the bomb, remind her she's still useful and she can still save the day and help even if it seems like she can't save/help the Doctor. I also wanted it to show that, here, in this story, the Doctor is unable to help because he can't empathize with Bracewell, he can't make the connection between love and stopping the bomb because, with his memories of Mating and all things associated with it, he truly doesn't remember ever having loved Angel. How could he talk about love if he's (as far as he's aware) never experienced genuine love like that :( It seems his amnesia is affecting more than we thought :(
> 
> Bue we all know what's coming next...River Song O.O Oh boy. But we've got even more theories now! Two in one chapter! Did the cracks affect him the way they affected Amy? Or is Angel's fear a reality? Will she be the one erased from time? We'll have to wait and see }:)


	11. The Time of Angels: The Home Box

A young man stood in a clear field, sunlight shining on him on that beautiful day, warming him. The sky was so blue, the gentle white clouds drifting in its expanses, making lovely shapes as they slowly passed. The birds sang as he spun in a circle slowly in the middle of it, his eyes glassy, an imprint of a kiss in red lipstick just above his lips on the right side of his face, a rather goofy expression on his face as though he felt all were right with the world and it was a lovely thing to be him at the moment. He didn't have a care in the world...

Until three men walked over to him, an older man in an evening jacket flanked by two guards, glaring daggers at him.

"It's a beautiful day," the young man sighed with a small laugh.

The older man just reached out, using a handkerchief to wipe the lipstick away, careful not to touch it himself, no, exposing his skin to that substance would be disastrous.

~8~

"Hallucinogenic lipstick," the older man remarked, looking at the guards as they actually stood in a ship, the young man before them, still spinning around, lost in a fantasy world, "She's here," he grumbled, knowing exactly who the lipstick belonged to before he turned and walked away.

~8~

A woman strode along the corridor in red high heels, her black dress swirling around her ankles as she stopped in front of a door. She pulled a gun from her small purse and fired out the lock. The door slid open to reveal a black cube with a hole through the center. She tilted the cube so the top was facing towards her and changed the settings on her gun so it acted like a blowtorch as she carved a very important message into it.

She smirked as she finished, excited to see just what she'd get, where in a certain timeline the receiver of the message might be.

~8~

_12,000 years later…_

The Doctor walked through a museum that looked like it was more a medieval church at one point than an actual place of storing artifacts, at least it appeared that way given the high ceilings, the makes of the windows, and the general architecture. He pointed at various displays as Amy followed, a bit exasperated, having wanted an alien planet for ages now but been denied it at every turn.

Angel walked behind the ginger, her arms crossed, slightly amused by the events going on before her. She had a small smile on her face, not quite a full blown grin she imagined might be there had the Doctor just...held her hand...but that wasn't going to happen, she was still amused by him though. She had managed to stop constantly comparing him to his last self, it was quite obvious to her how...different...they were, not just in the way they were around her, but in everything. She could still imagine what the last him might be like wandering through the museum though...giving lectures about every single object in his sight, probably driving Amy mad with boredom, but she would have smiled, she really did love the sound of his voice, not that the new him was terrible to listen to. No, she liked his voice as well, and his hair and eyes and everything, even his clothes suited him, his personality, his mannerisms...

She sighed, which only made it all the more difficult to be around him. She still loved him, loved the new him too, she'd probably love the next him as well, but it still hurt, to know that the last him had clearly loved her, but the new him...didn't. Or at least he didn't seem to. She was so confused, there were times when she thought...when he looked at her one way or his thoughts strayed...but then he'd shake himself out of it, almost like he didn't want to feel them, like he didn't want to give himself a chance to. She didn't even want to think about what that could mean that it seemed like he was trying to keep himself from falling in love with her again...

Mostly because, she already had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, like...something was coming that just...wouldn't be good, for her at least.

"Wrong!" the Doctor pointed to yet another set of displays, "Wrong! Bit right, mostly wrong. I love museums."

"Yeah, great," Amy sighed, "Can we go to a planet now? Big spaceship, Churchill's bunker...you promised me a planet next."

"Amy, this isn't any old asteroid. It's the _Delerium Archive_ , final resting place of the Headless Monks, the biggest museum ever."

Angel shifted a bit at that, at the mention of the Headless Monks. She hadn't heard much of them, so she didn't know why she felt so uneasy about them all of a sudden, but...she couldn't help the feeling of alarm that raced through her at the mention of them.

"You've got a _time machine_ , what do you need museums for?"

"Wrong! Very wrong! Oh, one of mine. Also one of mine," he peered into a display case, seeing a few small figurines within.

"It's how he keeps score Amy," Angel called as she joined them.

The Doctor blinked and straightened, turning to her with a frown, "How do you know that?"

She blinked, smiling tensely, not wanting to lie exactly but also not wanting to remind him that he had told her that very same fact, because she doubted he'd remember that adventure, or what they'd gotten up to during it. He'd taken her to a museum about the history of Earth once, just to try a little game, see if they could spot Jack or themselves in the displays and pictures and things, wanting to keep score of which of them appeared most. He'd ended up doing exactly what his 9th self had done and touched a glass, setting off alarms. He'd grabbed her hand and they ran, until he pulled her into a small alcove behind a pillar, the two of them pressed together as the guards ran past. He'd been about to talk, about to let out an excited cheer that they'd escaped, but she had sensed a few guards lingering behind the pack that had raced by and, with him holding her hands, she hadn't been able to cover his mouth...with anything except her lips. They'd shared quite a few kisses hidden behind that pillar, for quite a while longer after the guards had disappeared.

But there was no memory of it in his mind.

So instead, she shifted back and forth and supplied, "I just…sensed it," instead.

She couldn't bring up that he'd told her, she'd been doing this a lot, trying to remind him, trying to bring up little things they'd talked about during some intimate moments, hoping maybe something had leaked through. She couldn't stand it any longer to have him look at her after she mumbled 'you mentioned it once' and have him go 'when was that?' before just shrugging and remarking he needed a bigger head. It broke her hearts every time he said that, every time he reminded her that he didn't even remember those moments, those secrets he'd shared with her.

Like his name.

She hadn't heard him say her name in what felt like ages either.

She should have been used to it though, no one but your parents and Mate knew your name, her parents had been long gone. Her father barely called her by her name because her mother had been the one to name her. In fact, he barely even called her Angel now that she thought of it. It had been her mother's nickname for her, she had truly been her mother's angel, her blessed child. Her mother had never had easy pregnancies, never had a child grow full term...till her...her last attempt. _She_ had been her mother's last hope, the last child her mother would have been able to stand to lose. And she'd survived, renewed her hope for children so she attempted more till her sister was born.

But her birth...her existance...it was just another reminder to her father that she had survived, she was still there, and her mother wasn't. Her parents hadn't Mated, unlike her sister (and her she supposed), so, in a way it was almost worse for her father to live on after. He did love her mother, but she supposed her mother was just worried about Mating to him. Pregnancies had never ever been easy for her mother's family, and it was proven true for her mother and for her sister as well, and her mother had confided in her that she had always been worried that she might die in childbirth, that it had been her deepest fear since she'd been a child herself. If she did, if the baby survived, she wanted to know that its father would be there to raise it, that it wouldn't be alone or sent somewhere it wouldn't be loved. So her parents had just...never Mated, which she supposed was good as her sister had been so young when their mother had passed.

Perhaps that was another reason why her father and her sister had had the closer relationship, he had been left to raise her sister nearly on his own, her sister was the one that depended on their father more than she did. She supposed she'd never know.

She shook her head, her thoughts taking a depressing path, not wanting to think about that, about her family, about Mating, at the moment. Just...really wanting to try to have just _one trip_ , one adventure where she could just...try to forget that the Doctor had forgotten, try to pretend he was like his 9th self, that he was just at a point before he had fallen in love with her. If he had once, perhaps he could again? She hoped so. She was still trying to think of what could have happened to him, of what she could possibly do to help him remember. But she wasn't getting anything. She couldn't sit him down and tell him, she already had and he'd waved her off. She couldn't even explain it to him because he had literally no memories of them Mating, of any sort of feeling that led up to him asking her, why would he believe her? And if she even tried to prove it, stating what he might be thinking or feeling at that moment...he might just deny it and argue that she was psychic, she was intuitive, of course she'd be able to guess what he was thinking or feeling. Worse yet, he might become aware that she believed she could read his mind and raise mental barriers against her unconsciously.

She couldn't bear that, to have him actively block her, for him to actually and consciously want to keep her out of his mind. So she kept quiet. She needed to work out what had happened first, she needed to figure out why those memories were missing, before she brought it up to him. If she could work out how to reverse it...she could get him back.

The Doctor just nodded, like it all made sense, and turned back to the displays. Amy, on the other hand, eyed the woman curiously, she'd noticed during their last few adventures that Angel would often comment on something that seemed slightly personal to the Doctor, given his reactions, he was always thrown for a loop at times. It was like the girl knew more about the Doctor than she was letting on, more about the Doctor than even the Doctor was aware, which only served to make Amy curious as to how…she sort of got the feeling that it was more than just Angel 'sensing' things.

Angel looked away from the Doctor sadly, when something caught her eye and she walked over to a glass case, staring down at an antique box with a hole in the middle of it, "Doctor?" she called, snapping the man out of his thoughts. He walked over to look down at the box, his eyes widening at the symbols etched on the top of it.

"Oh great, an old box," Amy remarked as she looked at it.

"It's from one of the old starliners," the Doctor eyed it, "A Home Box."

"What's a Home Box?"

"Like a black box on a plane, except it homes. Anything happens to the ship, the Home Box flies home, with all the flight data."

"So?"

"Those symbols," Angel said, looking down at it with a small frown on her face, "They're Old High Gallifreyan," she shook her head, "I haven't seen that in ages."

It made her both curious and nervous as to how it had been done. Curious because that was quite a good rendition fo it, a bit off...in literal translation, but very, very close. And nervous because, those words, that phrase, she had only ever heard it uttered by one person...a person she _dreaded_ running into again, especially now.

"The lost language of the Time Lords," the Doctor breathed, "There were days, there were many days, these words could burn stars and raise up empires, and topple Gods."

"What does it say?" Amy smiled, buzzing with excitement.

"Hello, sweetie," he said, his face morphing into a grimace of annoyance.

The corners of Angel's mouth twitched at that. As terrible as it was...she felt almost...comforted to know that, for now, the Doctor seemed rather annoyed and displeased with River Song. She...she couldn't help but worry that, with his memories lost, that River...

She closed her eyes, feeling her hearts starting to thump and her breath catch in her throat, feeling cold at the thought that _that_ might be how River knew the Doctor's name in the Library. He didn't remember SHE was his Mate...would he in the future? Would he...would he tell River because he didn't remember? How long did River know them? How long might the amnesia last?

She put her hand on the glass case housing the Home Box for balance, feeling light-headed, shaking her head forcefully. No, she _wouldn't_ think about that. She _refused_ to think about that. She would not. It would not happen. The amnesia, it wouldn't last forever, it _couldn't_.

Her hearts wouldn't be able to take it if it did.

~8~

A door slid open on the ship to reveal the woman in the black dress and heels to be River Song. She looked straight at a security camera, pulling down her shades to wink at it before walking away.

~8~

An alarm bell rang through the museum, cutting through Angel's thoughts, as the Doctor ran through it, the Home Box now under his arm, the girls racing after him. They ran into the TARDIS, two guards chasing after them.

~8~

Two armed guards turned around a corner and stopped, aiming their rifles at River Song as she stood in the dead end before the airlock doors. The older man walked forwards, standing between the two of them as he smirked at her, "Party's over, Dr. Song."

~8~

The Doctor quickly hooked the Home Box up to the console as Angel piloted the ship into the Vortex to get away from the guards, not quite sure what it meant that the Doctor had been so...eager...to take the box and see what River's message was, because clearly there had to be some sort of message on it. She didn't know, she'd been a bit distracted by her small panic just then.

"Why are we doing this?" Amy watched them.

"'Cos someone on a space ship 12,000 years ago is trying to attract my attention," the Doctor remarked, working just a bit cautiously, still not entirely sure if the TARDIS might start sparking against him again, "Let's see if we can get the security playback working."

He stepped back as Angel joined them, watching a grainy black and white image of River wink at the camera on the monitor. It then switched to River with her back to the camera, facing a set of circular doors, "The party's over, Dr. Song…" a man began, "…yet still you're onboard."

River turned, "Sorry, Alistair," she smiled, "I needed to see what was in your vault. Do you all know what's down there? Any of you? Because I'll tell you something. This ship won't reach its destination."

"Wait till she runs," Alistair told the guards, "Don't make it look like an execution."

River glanced at her watch, "Triple-seven, five, slash, three, four, nine by ten."

The Doctor and Amy exchanged a look when Angel sighed and started to set the controls in the console.

"Angel?" the Doctor watched her, "Um, any particular reason you're helping her?

"Zero, twelve, slash, acorn…"

"It's just…she didn't seem to like you much last time we met."

"Oh, and I could do with an air corridor."

"I know," Angel admitted, "But she saved us, it's the least we can do."

"What was that, what did she say?" Amy frowned, watching as the Doctor begrudgingly went to type the instruction for an air corridor into the keypad.

"Coordinates," she murmured, setting the last of them.

She knew River had been a bit...rude and cold to her, she understood the Doctor's confusion as to why she'd want to help someone who had treated her so poorly. But...she just...couldn't let River be shot. She didn't have it in her to leave anyone, no matter who, no matter what they did or how they treated her, in that dangerous a situation. If they didn't help, River would either be shot or thrown into the cold of space and die. And...she didn't like death. She didn't like seeing people suffer. She just...couldn't stand by and watch other people get hurt. And if that meant helping River Song, then she'd do it.

Because River had asked for her forgiveness in the future, and she had given it. She couldn't hold this River accountable for the treatment her older self had given. This River wasn't that River, this River hadn't done it yet, and this River...needed their help.

It had been said so often that that was the one word the Doctor could never refuse, well, she was his Mate still, it applied to her as well. She just liked helping people.

~8~

"Like I said on the dance floor, you might want to find something to hang on to!" River shouted.

A timer beeped frantically and Alistair grabbed one of the pipes on the wall, the guards doing the same, realizing what that beeping was.

River blew them a kiss just before the door behind her was blown open and she was sucked out into space…directly to the TARDIS as it materialized a short distance away.

~8~

The Doctor ran to the doors and actually had to struggle just a little to get them opened, reaching out a hand to pull River in…only for both of them to fall to the floor in a heap, River seeming to take a moment to spread herself over the Doctor and make no move to get up.

"Doctor?" Amy lifted an eyebrow, noticing that as she had been eyeing the woman curiously at the time.

Angel just looked down and set the controls to follow the ship, not wanting to look over at the scene before her. She knew it was an accident, or she hoped it had been, but she just...she couldn't do anything, no matter what the Mating instinct was telling her to do. She didn't want to bring it up, not in front of River Song, she didn't want to storm over there and claim the Doctor was her Mate and have him deny it in front of River.

"River?" the Doctor peered at her before he struggled to his feet, rather quickly if Amy had to describe it, and looking rather awkward and uncomfortable with the position he'd just been in. River seemed to let out a sigh as she got up as well, the two of them watching the ship fly away.

"Follow that ship!" River shouted, turning to run up to the console only to find Angel already doing it. She glared at the woman, her back to the Doctor, sure he couldn't see her, and got to work as well. She reached for a button...only for the TARDIS to spark violently, forcing her to snap her hand away.

"Yeah," the Doctor called as he ran up a moment later to help them, "The TARDIS does that a lot now. Not really to Angel though."

Amy stood back and watched as River rolled her eyes at the box and pulled her shoes off, hanging them on the monitor bar, glancing at the readings there, "They've gone into warp drive, we're losing them! Stay close!"

"We're trying," Angel said, pushing buttons and twisting knobs to try and keep up.

"Obviously not hard enough," River shot back at her, sounding a bit like she was just desperate to keep up with the ship instead of being snippy...only a bit though, enough, it seemed, to fool the Doctor. She turned to him, "Use the stabilizers."

"There aren't any stabilizers!" he called.

"The blue switches!"

"The blue ones don't do anything, they're just...blue."

"Yes, they're _blue_. They're the blue _stabilizers_!" she reached out to hit them when the TARDIS jolted, sending her to the floor as though in an attempt to keep the woman away from her controls, "Oi!" she huffed at the ship, which only made an angry humming noise in return.

Angel reached out and pressed the blue switches, which were indeed stabilizers down, the ship becoming quiet and calm. She swallowed, feeling a jumble of emotions. She was just a little happy that the TARDIS didn't seem to like River, just a little bit, because...well...the TARDIS meant the world to the Doctor, anything the box didn't like he usually didn't like either, and that...made her feel a bit better about her fears in the museum. But, then again, the box seemed to REALLY not like her...which made her concerned as to...why?

The box had clearly known that the amnesia would strike the Doctor, had known ages ago it appeared. Did she...did she know who River was too? Who...who River was to them? To the Doctor? She shook her head, she didn't want to think of what it meant that the box didn't like her. But...it also made her feel anxious because, River knew about the stabilizers, she knew their proper name, she knew how to use them and what they did and...how to pilot the TARDIS it appeared. How? How did she know? _She_ was usually the one who taught companions to fly the old girl, but she just...couldn't see herself teaching River no matter how badly it might make her feel to know she was denying someone that chance. So...had the Doctor? Something twisted painfully inside her at that thought.

"Yeah, well, it's just boring now, isn't it?" the Doctor grumbled, cutting into her thoughts, "They're boring-ers. They're blue boring-ers."

"Doctor, how come she can fly the TARDIS?" Amy frowned as River picked herself up and brushed off her dress.

"You call _that_ flying the TARDIS?" he scoffed, plopping down on the jump seat to sulk, "Ha!"

"Ok," River smirked, moving to the console, "I can map the probability vectors, do a fold-back on the temporal isometry, chart the ship to its destination, and park us right alongside..." she reached out, seemingly about to do that, when a lever resisted. River glared and went to twist a knob only for the box to make a grinding noise and spark at her, "Will you stop that?!" she shouted at the box, glaring at the rotor.

Angel just shook her head and sighed, "Be nice girl," she whispered, stroking the rotor, calming the grinding noise to a dull, if annoyed, hum, "How about I do it?" she looked at River.

The woman just crossed her arms, irritated with the box, but stepped back so that Angel could get to work, seeming very displeased with her attempt to show off a bit of her knowledge and skills being thwarted.

"There," Angel smiled, "Parked."

"You parked us?" the Doctor looked at her, "We haven't landed."

"We did," she nodded, bringing the monitor over to his side so he could see, "See?"

"But it didn't make the noise," he stood.

"The wheezing noise?" she guessed, Amy glancing at River as the woman started to tap her bare foot, her jaw clenching as the Doctor spoke with Angel, the two seeming to be in their own world as they discussed the TARDIS.

"Yeah, the..." he made the TARDIS wheezing sound.

"Doctor," Angel gave a little laugh, feeling her hearts lighten just a tiny bit at how he smiled at her laugh, "It's _really_ not meant to make that noise. You need to stop leaving the brakes on."

"Yeah, well, it's a brilliant noise," he told her, grinning, unable to stop grinning really, rather pleased with himself.

Angel had _laughed_. _He'd_ gotten a little laugh out of her. She had a rather...nice laugh too. He'd noticed she'd been rather...quiet and subdued the last few adventures, he supposed it was having to think of the man she'd lost on Gallifrey, so...he'd wanted to cheer her up a bit. Take her to the museum. For some reason he'd got a notion in his head that it would be fun for her, that...that museums were cool, that she'd have fun in one, and set the course. It hadn't turned out as well as he'd hoped, but he got her to laugh just then! Score one for the Doctor! Yes!

"I love that noise," he continued, before spinning around, "Come along Pond, let's have a look," and he dashed to the doors.

"No, wait!" River yelled as Angel watched her carefully, "Environment checks," she moved to the monitor, bringing it around once more.

"Oh, yes, sorry! Quite right. Environment checks," he poked his head outside, "Nice out."

River tried to put a command in...only for the screen of the monitor to go to static, at least her hand hadn't been slightly burned from a spark that time. She whacked the top of it but it didn't help, just made it go completely black.

"She doesn't like being hit," Angel told her quietly, moving to the controls as River stepped back, not seeming to want to even be near her.

"Miserable old cow," the woman muttered under her breath, making Angel frown and the TARDIS start to hum angrily.

"It's alright girl," she reached out and stroked the rotor, trying to calm the oncoming tantrum that was building, "You are _beautiful_ , absolutely _fantastic_ , brilliant really," she smiled at the rotor, the box calming just a little...though she, River, and Amy got the distinct impression the box was trying to give River a dirty look. She quickly began typing, hoping it might distract the TARDIS a bit, "We're..."

"Somewhere in the Garn Belt," River cut in, calling to the Doctor, reading over Angel's shoulder, "There's an atmosphere. Early indications suggest..."

"We're on Alfava Metraxis," the Doctor smirked as he looked at them, "The seventh planet of the Dundra System. Oxygen-rich atmosphere, toxins in the soft band, 11-hour day, and..." he poked his head outside again, "Chances of rain later."

"He thinks he's _so_ hot when he does that," River remarked to Amy as the Doctor came back to the console.

Angel gave a small smile, it was true though. She'd always loved it when he spoke, when he showed how clever and brilliant he was. That wouldn't change no matter the incarnation he was on.

"How come you can fly the TARDIS?" Amy looked at her.

"Oh, I had lessons," River said tensely, as though struggling to get the words out, "From…the very…best."

"Well, yeah," the Doctor grinned, smug.

"It's a shame you were busy that day," River half-glared at him, as though almost blaming him for her lessons, "You insisted that Angel teach me instead."

Angel blinked, surprised, " _I_ taught you?"

Well, she supposed she was wrong then...apparently she could 'see herself' teaching River then...how did _that_ happen? Though, she supposed, she had to be happy that _the Doctor_ hadn't, that...that it wasn't some sort of sweet moment where he taught the woman how to fly the magic box...

"Yes," River said slowly, as though speaking to an idiot, which made Amy frown a bit at that, the Doctor not noting as he'd moved to swing the monitor around and was typing something in at another keyboard, before River took her shoes, "Right then, why did they land here?" she turned and made her way to the doors.

"They didn't land," Angel told her softly, a bit stung from the tone of voice River used on her, a bit...hurt that the Doctor hadn't stopped her. She knew he hadn't heard her, he'd been focused on what he was typing, but...a part of her couldn't help but wish he'd...say something...to River about it. No matter the man, his last self or this one, he wasn't one to let others be put down, yet River was putting HER down in small, subtle ways.

"Sorry?" River looked back at her.

"It crashed."

The Doctor nodded, "You should've checked the Home Box," he followed her to the doors and, as soon as River stepped out, shut them behind her and ran back to the console, starting the box up again.

"Explain!" Amy looked between the two of them, "Who is that and how did she do that museum thing?"

"It's a long story and we don't know most of it. Off we go!"

"What are you doing?"

"Leaving. She's got where she wants to go, let's go where we want to go."

"Are you basically running away?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

He was silent a moment, actually...not really sure why.

It was...weird. He really and truly _didn't_ know. It was just like...he wanted to get them all as far away from her as possible. Like he just didn't want to be near River Song any more than he had to. Like...he had to get _Angel_ away from her. That last thought made him pause, yes...perhaps that was it? The woman _had_ been rather rude to her last time and Angel had been dying, perhaps it just wasn't sitting right with him how she'd treated the Time Lady and he was just holding a grudge. Well, that and he supposed the fact that she was from a future point in his timeline too, yes, that made sense as well, who knew what she knew or who she even was.

"'Cos she's the future," he answered, "My future, Angel's future, our future."

"Can you run away from that?"

"I can run away from anything I like."

"Don't I know it," Angel murmured quietly, though neither of them heard her.

She kept getting the feeling like he was...running from _her_. Like everything he felt for her (after the regeneration) or thought of her or wanted to do around her just...kept getting pushed aside. It was like he was running, from her, from the memories of being with her, from anything he might be able to form with her. It just...didn't make sense.

What had she done that made him want to run away from her so badly?

"Time is not the boss of me," the Doctor finished.

"Rule 408," Angel remarked.

"Yes," the Doctor laughed, pointing at her.

"Hang on, is that a planet out there?" Amy asked.

"Yes, of course it's a planet."

"You promised me a planet. Five minutes?"

The Doctor seemed like he was about to protest, "You _did_ promise her a planet Doctor," Angel reminded him, even though she _did_ want to leave as well, but Amy wouldn't stop asking them about River if they left now and...the ship had crashed, something had _made_ it crash, what if River was about to encounter it? What if she was about to have to fight it? Something that could crash a ship was powerful and deadly, "You crossed your hearts."

He sighed, "Ok, five minutes!"

"Yes!" Amy ran for the doors, grabbing Angel's hand as she passed and pulling the girl with her, a small part of her feeling like she almost had to make up for how short River had been with her by showing her SHE liked her.

"But that's all, 'cos I'm telling you now, that woman is _not_ dragging me into anything!" the Doctor shouted as he followed them out onto a beach in daylight. The ship had crashed into a very large, very old stone structure, burning in areas with bits of debris lying on the ground, around it and the TARDIS.

The Doctor, Amy, and Angel walked over to River as she stood there, looking up at it, "What caused it to crash?" River wondered, "Not me."

"Nah, the airlock would've sealed seconds after you blew it," the Doctor remarked, "According to the Home Box, the warp engines had a phase-shift. No survivors."

"A phase-shift would have to be sabotage. I _did_ warn them."

"About what?"

"Well, at least the building was empty," River looked at schematics of a small handheld device, "Aplan temple. Unoccupied for centuries."

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" Amy stepped up to them.

"Amy Pond, professor River Song," the Doctor said quickly.

River spun to face them with a gasp, "Ah, I'm going to be a professor some day, am I?" the Doctor winced at having let that slip, "How exciting!" she grinned, "Spoilers!" and looked back at the device again.

"Yeah, but who is she and how did she do that?" Amy hissed at them, "She just left you a note in a museum!"

The Doctor just walked off, not very pleased with the entire situation, this whole thing really _was_ getting to him. He didn't like it, not one bit, not at all. He just wanted to leave, to turn his back, and take Angel back to the TARDIS, and go away...he winced, and Amy too, yes, of course, Amy as well.

"Two things _always_ guaranteed to show up in a museum," River explained as Amy walked closer to her, Angel with her, though hanging a bit back, "The Home Box of category four starliner and, sooner or later, him. It's how he keeps score."

Amy nodded, "I know, Angel told me."

"It's hilarious, isn't it?" River smiled, though Amy had noticed the tension in the woman when she'd mentioned Angel.

The Doctor came up behind them with a sarcastic laugh as Angel moved to stand on the other side of Amy, "I'm nobody's taxi service!" he looked at River, "I'm not gonna be there to catch you every time you feel like jumping out of a spaceship."

"And you are so wrong," River sighed, "Because, as much as I hate to admit it, Angel wouldn't let you let someone die, even me," and with that, River threw a narrow-eyed look at the Time Lady.

Angel blinked as the look disappeared only a moment later, and frowned, having _no idea_ what she could have _possibly_ done to River to make her dislike her so much. She supposed she'd find out one day…perhaps try to avoid it if it wasn't too dangerous in the timelines...but...why was River so cross about her getting the Doctor to save her? Shouldn't she be happy that she was being saved?

"There's one survivor," River added, cutting off her thoughts, "There's a thing in the belly of that ship that can't ever die. _Now_ he's listening!" she smiled before holding the device to her mouth, "You lot in orbit yet? Yeah, I saw it land. I'm at the crash site. Try and home in on my signal," she walked off a few feet before holding up the device to the Doctor, "Doctor, can you sonic me? I need to boost the signal so we can use it as a beacon."

The Doctor frowned and took out the sonic, using it on River's comm. as she dropped him a small curtsey, "Oh, Doctor!" Amy teased, "You _soniced_ her."

Angel looked away a moment at that, playing it off as eyeing the beach.

"We have a minute," River motioned them over after she sent the signal, "Shall we?" she pulled her TARDIS diary out of her purse and opened it, "Where were we up to? Have we done the Bone Meadows?"

"What's the book?"

"Stay away from it," the Doctor warned.

"What is it though?"

"Her diary."

" _Our_ diary," River countered.

"Her past, my...our future," the Doctor said, "Time travel. We keep meeting in the wrong order."

A short distance away, four columns of sand swirled up, turning into four soldiers in desert camouflage. An older man moved over to them, speaking to River, "You promised me an army, Dr. Song."

"No," she shook her head, "I promised you the _equivalent_ of an army. This...is the Doctor," the Doctor gave a smiling salute.

"Father Octavian, sir," he shook the Doctor's hand, "Bishop, second class. 20 Clerics at my command. The troops are already in the drop ship and landing shortly," he paused, glancing over at Angel as Amy was a bit distracted by the three other rather attractive soldiers, "And you are?"

"The Angel," she said.

The man just looked at her blankly.

"A Time Lady?"

Still nothing.

She sighed and nodded at the Doctor, "His…friend."

River's eyes widened at her introduction as a small pleased smile grew on her face.

"Oh," Octavian nodded, "Dr. Song didn't mention you…" Angel nodded, she should have expected that, "Dr. Song was helping us with a covert investigation," Octavian explained, turning to the Doctor, "Has she explained what we're dealing with?"

The Doctor tensed, knowing that when the church got involved it was something big, and looked at River, Angel shifting and glancing at the crash, the pit in her stomach growing, just feeling that whatever was going to happen today…it was not going to be good

And then River asked them a question that made their hearts stop, "What do you know of the Weeping Angels?"

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> River's remark might seem out of place, calling the TARDIS a miserable old cow, but remember, if this is how the TARDIS treats her now, this might have been going on for a while. She'll have a very different relationship with the TARDIS than she does in the show. And she'll be very careful about her actions/reactions/tones around Angel. This is an earlier her, but still a very crafty her. She probably knows how oblivious the Doctor can be and what sort of tones might slip past him.
> 
> But awww, Angel! I couldn't see her being the sort to ignore River in danger so she went to save the woman. I can say, as odd as it is, that's one of the reasons River dislikes her so much, we'll find out more about that later though :) Did you love the TARDIS's reaction to her? :) And what about that twist! ANGEL teaches River how to pilot?! Hmm...well, we all know in the show that there's more to that 'lesson' than she remarks here, we'll have to see what happens :)


	12. The Time of Angels: The Projection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note, Angel = Time Lady, angel = Weeping Angel, Weeping Angel = ...well, I think you know :)

A transport ship had arrived on the beach that night, soldiers already setting up camp as Octavian walking swiftly across the beach, followed by the Doctor, Amy, and Angel. Angel had her arms crossed, unable to help glancing at the Aplan building, the ship still sticking out of it. She didn't like this, not at all, she still remembered what happened the last time the Weeping Angels had been involved, the fear that had raced through her at the Doctor's disappearance. She supposed though, it was slightly better this time, they wouldn't have to rely on another person to help them, they were there together, the TARDIS was fine and safe, and they hadn't been displaced in time.

She rubbed her head, she still didn't like it, because...the Doctor didn't remember her being in 1969. At all. She'd seen the memories flash before his mind when River had mentioned the Weeping Angel just before. She wasn't there. She honestly didn't understand how his mind was making these outrageous compensations to make up for the gaps in his memory. To him, she had been in the TARDIS the entire time, but, somehow, just been unaware of what had happened to the box, that the angels had gotten her. She knew she had been oblivious at times in her last two bodies, but she was not THAT bad, by any stretch of the imagination, especially when it came to the TARDIS.

But in his mind, she just wasn't there, so she had to be somewhere else, and the last place he remembered her being was in the TARDIS. To him, he'd been trapped in 1969 with Martha and just Martha, that he'd been pouty and sullen because Martha had ordered him to remain in the small flat they'd rented while she worked and that he was bored. She hadn't gotten him flustered with that outfit Martha had put her in, she hadn't gone on a date with him and he hadn't gotten jealous of that man with the horrendously bad pickup lines (she now realized what they were), they hadn't taken a walk in the park and kissed before those sweet children. She hadn't been there to meet Billy, the timey wimey detector had led him to the man, she hadn't been part of the filmed conversation, it was just him.

And it hurt to realize that, in his memories, she wasn't there and that his new mind didn't care enough to wonder why, especially when she was and had always been right by his side. It made a slight bit of sense though, right from the moment she appeared in 1969, that entire trip had been nothing but sweet moments between them, especially considering the fact she had let herself be 'killed' by a Weeping Angel to get to him in the first place.

"The angel, as far as we know, is still trapped in the ship," Octavian explained, pulling Angel's attention over to them again, "Our mission is to get inside and neutralize it. We can't get through up top, we'd be too close to the drives. According to this," he showed them a handheld device with a scan of the tunnels, "Behind the cliff face, there's a network of catacombs leading right up to the temple. We can blow through the base of the cliffs, get into the entrance chamber, then make our way up."

"Oh, good," the Doctor nodded, though they could all see him shifting as he glanced at some equipment on a nearby table, looking for all the world like he wanted to _not_ talk about that.

"Good, sir?" even Octavian seemed to notice.

"Catacombs, probably dark ones. Dark catacombs, great."

"Technically, I think it's called a 'maze of the dead.'"

"You can _stop_ any time you like," he turned to Octavian, with a...look in his eyes that made the man pause.

He was worried, he admitted it, and Octavian wasn't making it any better. There was just...something about the angels that struck him, that unnerved him, that... _scared_ him. It was like...there was this pressure in his chest that tightened terribly. Like there was a weight on it that was crushing him, but he didn't know what it was. He'd faced the angels before, he'd survived, so why would now be any different? Back then there had been _4_ angels! There was just the 1 this time.

But something inside him just wouldn't let it go, wouldn't let him reassure himself. He couldn't help but feel like they shouldn't be there, like he should go back to the TARDIS and get them all out of there. He didn't want Angel...or Amy...around the Weeping Angel, not for a moment, not at all. There was a danger there, the Weeping Angels were deadly, and he would be exposing others to it, he'd be exposing Angel to it.

He frowned and spun around, resuming his examination of the equipment, why did his mind keep returning to Angel over Amy? It was like...it was natural, too natural, for him to fee concern and protectiveness over the Time Lady more so than Amy. In reality, Amy should be the one he worried about more since she was human, Angel was a Time Lady, she was psychic, she had the Vortex inside her, she'd be able to protect herself if anything happened, more so than Amy could. So why did he keep feeling this...worry flare up inside him when he thought of Angel and the Weeping Angel being in the same place?

He shook his head, it was probably just because she was the last Time Lady. Yes, that as it. Amy was human, but there were unending amounts of them, Angel was the last of his people, the only thing he had left besides the TARDIS. Yes, if anything happened to her...well...he'd be alone again. He winced, resting a hand to his chest as a pain shot through him, feeling like...if he lost her...it would be _so much worse_ than just being alone.

"Father Octavian?" one of the men beckoned to him, making them all glance over at the shout.

"Excuse me, sir, ma'ams," Octavian nodded and headed off.

The Doctor sighed and eyed the equipment, sonicing it this time.

"You're letting people call you 'sir,'" Amy commented as she sat on the table between him and Angel, "You never do that. So, whatever a Weeping Angel is, it's really bad, yeah?"

"Now that's interesting..." the Doctor glanced at Amy, "You're still here. Which part of 'Wait in the TARDIS till I tell you it's safe' was so confusing?"

"Ooh, are you all Mr. Grumpy Face today?"

Angel smiled a bit at that, her mind drifting to when the fifth Doctor had appeared in the TARDIS, the frowning face he'd told her his fifth self did at times, oh there were so many similarities between that Doctor and his last self. There were quite a few similarities between his current self and a few of his past selves really, from what she knew of them. She looked over at the equipment as well, at the items on her side of Amy, trying to see if she recognized any of them. One or two looked familiar, or at least similar to pieces of the TARDIS. She felt a little...happy...that she recognized the pieces, she knew her last selves would have looked at them and been confused as to what they were, but she really had been paying attention to the Doctor, she felt like she knew more than she had before as a result.

"A Weeping Angel, Amy," the Doctor continued, "Is the deadliest, most powerful, most malevolent life form evolution has ever produced, and one is trapped inside that wreckage and I'm supposed to climb in with a screwdriver and a torch and, assuming I survive the radiation…"

"Which you will," Angel interjected.

"And the whole ship doesn't blow up in my face…"

"Which it won't."

"Do something clever which I haven't actually thought of yet."

"But you will."

"That's my day, that's what I'm up to. Any questions?"

Amy smiled a bit at their banter. They'd long ago explained that Angel and her psychic abilities and while she didn't really understand exactly how her abilities worked, Angel had reassured her that neither did she, "Is River Song your wife?" she smirked at him, "'Cos she's someone from your future, and the way she talks to you, I've never seen anyone do that. She's kinda like, you know, 'Heel, boy!' She's Mrs. Doctor from the future, isn't she? Is she gonna be your wife one day?"

The Doctor frowned at that word, _wife_...if felt...like the wrong word to use...

~oOo~

_"To honor and obey?" he smirked._

_"Tell me about it, mate," Lance rolled his eyes._

_"OI!" Donna shouted, rounding on Lance, as the doors to the lift shut._

_"I don't know," he muttered, draping an arm around Angel's shoulders, "Might not be too bad," he looked at Angel as she looked away, blushing, "What do you think? Wanna get married after this?"_

_Angel laughed lightly but shook her head, "No."_

_He pouted, he'd actually really been asking just then. Probably not in the best manner, but...he really had been asking her to marry him, "Why not?"_

_Angel looked up at him, seeing the hurt look on his face and reached out to touch his cheek, "Because I'm your Mate," she said simply, stroking his cheek._

_He reached up to her hand, taking it, not pulling it away but just holding it, the back of her hand, resting on his cheek, "And you could be my wife too."_

_"But loads of people have wives," she smiled, "Not many have a Mate. I think that's far more special, far more amazing, far more meaningful, a title than wife. And..." she trailed, "Husbands and wives can leave each other. I'd never ever want to leave you."_

_He blinked, letting out a little laugh and shaking his head as he smiled at her, "I see it now," he breathed, moving her hand from his cheek to kiss the back of it._

~oOo~

The Doctor hummed a bit in thought at the word, he didn't quite agree with the notion of wives. There could be wives on Gallifrey, he'd had a wife at one time, more like a civil friend with whom he shared children, but...he just felt like there was something...more...out there, something _better_. Well, there was Mating of course, but that was only between a Time Lord and Lady who were _deeply_ in love. He didn't sense River Song as a Time Lord and there was only Angel and she wasn't his Mate. Well she was, but his friend, his _mate_ , not his _Mate_.

Angel swallowed hard as that hit her in the gut, every single time he denied it, denied how close they'd been, how much they had meant to each other, every time he denied that she was his Mate it just...stabbed her in the hearts, made them hurt to beat. She closed her eyes a moment, turning and pretended to look at a setup of equipment even more intently, moving slightly to the left so her back was just a bit to the two of them. It was the only way they wouldn't see the heartbreak in her face.

Because, yes, she _had_ considered that as well, she'd considered that it was possible that River was...someone important to the Doctor in the future. It had hit her in the Library, the fears of who River could be, and they still didn't know. At first, she had thought that the River they'd seen in the Library had been from a timeline where _she_ had never been ill, but it didn't explain the woman's anger towards her.

Now though, she was starting to suspect that, perhaps, River had lied. Or even if she hadn't, she'd said they hadn't _mentioned_ an illness to her. If that River was the only one who met her when she'd been dying, then they wouldn't have any cause to talk about it around any other River. She knew she didn't want to even think on that time in her life, the fear and the pain, she doubted the Doctor would want to talk about it even with his memory loss, to come that close to losing the last of your people. Now, if she had been there in River's future, healthy or sick, what if...what if _this_ had happened in River's timeline, what if the Doctor had forgotten, what if he never remembered and _that_ was why River seemed to dislike her so much, because the River in the Library had seen the Doctor being sweet to HER, and if he never remembered and if River _was_ someone important to him in the woman's timeline then River had every reason in the world to be cold to her in the Library.

But why did she still act that way _now_? The Doctor wasn't being sweet to her anymore.

She rubbed her head, she was starting to get a migraine. She'd actually been looking forward to a nice calm trip to a museum. Everything that had happened, with his regeneration and the Starship UK and Bracewell and the Daleks...it was draining her. She'd barely slept since the Doctor had regenerated, she was just so...tired. Emotionally, mentally, physically just...exhausted. She'd been hoping for a calm trip, a quiet trip, where she could just walk around and listen to the Doctor jabber on before getting some sleep. She'd had it all planned, let him make his way through the museum, put him in a good mood, ask about taking Rory as a companion, and then take a nap. Nothing of the sort had happened and she was just...so tired. She just wanted to sleep and she couldn't and she doubted the rest of the trip would be calm either.

"Yes, you're right," the Doctor muttered, and Angel's hearts twisted painfully at the thought that he was answering Amy's question, until he continued, "I am definitely Mr. Grumpy Face today."

"Doctor?" River stood in the door of the transport, waving him over, "Doctor!"

"Oops!" Amy smirked, "Her indoors!"

"Father Octavian!" River called as they all turned and joined her in the transport.

"Why do they call him Father?"

"He's their Bishop, they're his Clerics," the Doctor sighed, "It's the 51st Century, the Church has moved on."

~8~

On a screen in the transport ship, a black and white footage of the Weeping Angel was playing, its body turned on an angle, back to the screen, its hands over its eyes. River stood there with a remote in her hand as the clip played, four seconds of footage over and over. The Doctor stood right by the screen, watching it, as Angel stood across from him, shifting from foot to foot, her arms crossed, biting her lip in worry as she eyed it as well.

"What do you think?" River looked at the Doctor, "It's from the security cameras in the _Byzantium_ vault. I ripped it when I was onboard. Sorry about the quality. It's four seconds. I've put it on loop."

"Yeah, it's an angel," the Doctor agreed, "Hands covering its face."

"You've encountered the angels before?" Octavian frowned.

"Once," Angel answered, "A while ago, on Earth though, four of them."

He nodded, "But those were scavengers, barely surviving."

"It's just a statue," Amy argued.

"It's a statue when you _see_ it," River emphasized.

"Where did it come from?" the Doctor wondered.

"Oh, pulled from the ruins of Razbahan, end of last century. It's been in private hands ever since, dormant all that time."

"Dormant and patient have two different meanings," Angel murmured as she watched the angel closely, feeling like it was...watching her...even with its back turned. She didn't like it.

"What's that mean, it's a statue when you see it?" Amy frowned.

"The Weeping Angels can only move if they're unseen," River stated, "So legend has it."

"No, it's not legend, it's a quantum lock," the Doctor argued, "In the sight of any living creature, the angels literally cease to exist. They're just stone. The ultimate defense mechanism."

"What, being a stone?" Amy scoffed.

"Being a stone...until you turn your back."

~8~

The Doctor led the others out of the transport, across the beach, eyeing the crash, "The hyperdrive would've split on impact," he turned to Octavian, "The whole ship will be flooded with radiation, cracked electrons, gravity storms, deadly to almost any living thing."

"Deadly to an angel?" Octavian smiled, feeling a bit of hope.

" _Dinner_ to an angel. The longer we leave it, the stronger it will grow. Who built that temple? Are they still around?"

"The Aplans," River read off the handheld, "The indigenous life form. They died out 400 years ago."

"200 years later, the planet was terraformed," Octavian nodded, "Currently there are six billion human colonists."

"You lot, you're everywhere!" the Doctor groaned, "Like rabbits! I'll never get done saving you."

"Sir, if there is a clear and present danger to the local population..."

"Oh, there is. Bad as it gets. Bishop, lock and load!"

"Verger, how we doing with those explosives? Dr. Song, with me."

"Two minutes," River waved him on, "Sweetie, I need you."

The Doctor mouthed 'sweetie' before realizing River meant him and turned to head after her, Angel watching him go as he didn't even protest at being called 'sweetie' or even hesitate to follow the woman, a difference from his earlier remarks of River not dragging him anywhere, a difference she was trying not to think about.

"Anybody need me?" Amy watched them go, still standing in the transport door, "Nobody?" she crossed her arms.

"I'll stay with you Amy," Angel smiled lightly at the girl, walking into the transport with her, adding quietly to herself, "No one needs me either. Not anymore."

It was _just_ like the Library all over again. River truly _was_ much better than her, smarter, braver, a much better match than she was for the Doctor. And _that_ was what killed her, because the River in the Library was obviously very close to the Doctor, how close she could only guess though the fact she knew his name worried her immensely. But the fact that the Doctor didn't remember he'd Mated to _her_ …it left him open to others.

To River.

"You're a Time Lord too yeah?" Amy asked her as they stepped in, "A Time Lady?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't you sound like the Doctor?"

Angel had to smile at that, it was a very polite way of asking her why she wasn't as smart as him, "You know how when you're in school there's always that student who's just brilliant, top marks and all, who'll probably end up changing the world one day?" Amy nodded, "And then another one, just barely getting by, who'll probably never make much of themselves?" she frowned but nodded again, "Imagine the Doctor is the first student and I'm the other one. I was just…average during school, probably below average."

Amy linked her arm with Angel's, "Me too," she admitted, "Never really paid attention to anything that didn't interest me first. Like the Romans," she smirked, "The hottest Italians in the world," she laughed, "Rory dressed up as a Roman Centurion once for a party."

Angel laughed a bit at that, "Rory the Roman..."

...when something caught her eye.

The angel on the screen had its hands moved _away_ from its face.

~8~

River handed the Doctor a book, "I found this. Definitive work on the angels. Well, the only one. Written by a madman, it's barely readable, but I've marked a few passages."

The Doctor flipped through it quickly, "Not bad, bit slow in the middle, didn't you hate his girlfriend? I hate girlfriends too, well girls who are friends aren't bad though," he nodded, like Amy and Angel, they were very nice girls, and very good friends to him, "No, hang on, wait, wait!" he sniffed it.

"Dr. Song?" Amy peeked out from the transport, "Did you have more than one clip of the angel?"

"No, just the four seconds," she replied.

Puzzled, Amy turned back inside.

"This book is wrong!" the Doctor said, "What's wrong with this book, it's wrong. Angel?" he looked over to ask her, knowing she'd sense what it was, probably open the book to just the page he needed, only to see the girl wasn't there and shrugged, "What's wrong here?" he mumbled to himself, absently rubbing his chest, feeling like...there was more wrong than just the book.

~8~

"What did she say?" Angel asked as Amy stepped back in.

"Just the one clip," Amy confirmed.

Angel swallowed, she'd truly wanted to believe that it was just a different clip, but when they looked back, the angel was facing forward, its hands down at its side. Amy frowned and bent over to peer at it closely, watching the time code loop from 11:24 to 11:28.

"Amy?" Angel called softly as the angel's position moved just a bit.

Neither of them noticed the door close.

~8~

River observed the Doctor a moment as he examined the book, seeing him glance back at the transport unit from time to time between flipping pages, "Oh, it's so strange when you go all baby-face. How early is this for you?" she held open her journal.

"Very early," he skimmed the pages, a small frown of frustration coming to his face. Every time he got to the word 'angel' his mind immediately went to _Angel_ , it was rather difficult to keep his mind on the statues when Angel's lovely face popped into his mind, but he just shook his head and tried to focus.

"So you don't know who I am yet?" she grinned, eyeing him a moment before adding delicately, "And Angel?"

"What about her?" he asked, still flipping through pages.

River just smirked at that, at the tone, at the flippant way he'd replied, at the lack of...something...in his voice when the woman was brought up, "Nothing. Nothing at all."

"How do you know who I am? Who Angel is? We don't always look the same."

"I've got pictures of all your faces," she told him, she'd thrown the images of Angel out after a quick glance through, not wanting or caring to keep them, "You never show up in the right order though. I need the spotter's guide."

"Pictures?" he stiffened, "Why aren't there pictures?"

~8~

Angel picked up the remote for the video and tried to turn it off, but the image kept coming back on. She tried it once more but it happened again. She set the remote down, really not liking this and cursing herself for not sensing this earlier, she supposed...she was just tired. She'd noticed that she didn't get clear feelings or visions when her head hurt too much or when she was just...too tired to sense something.

"Amy…I think we should leave," she reached out for the ginger woman.

But Amy just shook her head, "But it's just a recording," and walked towards the screen, "It can't move," she bent down and tried to unplug the screen.

"Amy!" Angel called.

Amy looked up to see the angel's face close to the camera and scrambled back, Angel helping her up, "Doctor!"

They ran to the door, trying to open it but it wouldn't budge. They looked back at the screen to see the angel with its mouth open, ready to attack.

"Doctor!" Angel cried.

~8~

"This whole book, it's a warning, about the Weeping Angels," the Doctor frowned, "So why no pictures? Why not show us what to look out for? He couldn't have known we'd have a psychic with us, he'd have to give some sort of warning."

"There was a bit about images," River recalled.

"Yes! Hang on..." he flipped through the book, "'That which holds the image of an angel becomes, itself, an angel.'"

~8~

"Doctor!" both girls shouted, pounding on the doors.

Angel tried to think of what she could do. There was the Vortex yes, but...she'd really only ever been able to use it as a shield when using it herself, she wasn't consumed by it at the moment, she didn't know how to use it to blast the doors open. Sometimes she could snap ropes or little things, but this...this door was sealed shut.

~8~

"What does that mean?" River frowned, "'An image of an angel becomes, itself, an angel.'"

~8~

"No…" Angel gasped, seeing that the image of the angel had become solid in the center of the room, projecting out of the screen.

"Doctor!" Amy screamed, "It's in the room!"

"Doctor!" Angel tried.

~8~

The Doctor winced, feeling something flash through him, something that felt like...fear...before he heard the girls shouting for him, "Amy!" he ran to the transport, "Angel!"

"Doctor!" Angel shouted.

"Are you alright?" he ran up to the door, "What's happening?"

"Doctor, it's forming in the center of the room."

"The angel is here," Amy added.

"Don't take your eyes off it!" he pulled out the sonic and used it on the keypad, "It can't move if you're looking. What's wrong?" he checked the readings, "It's deadlocked."

"There is no deadlock," River argued, trying to override the controls.

"Don't blink, Amy! Either of you! Don't even blink!"

~8~

"Doctor!" Amy yelled as she banged against the door.

Angel stepped to the side, her eyes on the angel, "Amy, get out of the way," she ordered as Amy backed up as far as she could. Angel concentrated hard, pulling the Vortex through her, needing to try at least, needing to do _something_ to try and get Amy out of there. She _had_ used the Vortex something like this in the past, so she had to try now. She held out into her hands, pushing the energy towards the door, trying to open it from that side, trying to blow it off its hinges.

But it didn't work.

She felt to her knees, panting at the effort, one day she might be able to do something like that, but right now she wasn't strong enough.

~8~

"What are you doing?" River demanded as the Doctor fumbled with a box to her left.

"Cutting the power," he worked, "It's using the screen, I'm turning the screen off. It's no good, it's deadlocked the whole system."

"There's _no_ deadlock."

"There is now!" he snapped at her, growing quite agitated at how she really was not helping the situation.

He could feel it, that feeling that had sparked when Octavian had been talking about the angel before. It was racing through him now, telling him to get them out, telling him to keep them safe, to get them away from the angel in the room. It was desperate, it was consuming him, it was...actually starting to frighten him a bit at how powerful a sensation it was. He had to get in there, he had to get Angel...and Amy...out of there!

"Help!" Amy shouted.

"Amy! Can you turn it off? The screen, can you turn it off?"

"Angel tried."

He nodded, he should have expected that, beyond being psychic, Angel _was_ clever, a clever old Time Lady, rather brilliant really...he shook his head, focusing, "Try again but don't take your eyes off the angel."

"We're not!"

"Each time it moves, it'll move faster. Don't even blink."

"I'm not blinking! Have you ever tried not blinking?"

~8~

Amy blindely reached for the remote, not taking her eyes off the angel.

"Amy we can't blink," Angel told her, having moved to sit against the wall, panting, her eyes on the angel, that last blast of the Vortex had taken even more out of her, she'd tried to use all she could, as much as she safely could, to get the door open, now she just felt weak...and useless, "If we do it'll absorb enough energy to form entirely."

Which meant using the Vortex against it was out, if she hit that projection with the energy of the Vortex that would be able to feed it and then some.

Amy grabbed the remote and backed away, trying to switch it off but it just kept turning back on, "It just keeps switching back on!"

"Yeah, it's the angel," the Doctor called.

"But it's just a recording."

"No, 'anything that takes the image of an angel is an angel.'"

~8~

The Doctor looked over at River, "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to cut through," she said, holding a small blowtorch to the wall, "It's not even warm."

"There is no way in, it's not physically possible," he ran a hand through his hair, growing more frantic. His hearts were pounding, his blood racing, his mind throbbing, telling him to get in there, to get them out, to protect them, to stop the angel, to save his Angel, to help Amy, but he was just...standing there, unable to do anything.

That was really frustrating!

~8~

"Doctor!" Amy gasped, "What's it gonna do to us?"

"Just keep looking at it," he ordered, "Don't stop looking!"

"Just tell me. What's it gonna do to me?"

Angel winced, forcing her eyes to stay open as her mind was sucked into the future.

… _Amy was lying curled up in a ball on a forest floor, tears and fear in her eyes_ …

"Amy, not the eyes!" the Doctor called, "Look anywhere but don't look at the eyes."

"Why?" Amy frowned, looking in its eyes.

'… _everything, you're dying_ …'

"What is it?" River called.

"'The eyes are not the windows of the soul, they are the doors," the Doctor read, "Beware what may enter there.'"

'… _as long as our eyes are open, they can climb inside. There's an angel in her mind!_ …'

"No!" Angel shouted and half threw herself forward, throwing out her right hand and shooting a blast of golden energy at the screen behind the angel, destroying it, causing the projection to flicker. The doors unlocked just as the image faded. The Doctor and River ran in just as Angel collapsed back against the wall again, the golden energy fading from around her, leaving her gasping for breath.

She'd never shot a bolt of energy out of her before and destroyed something while in complete control of the Vortex.

That was new.

Might be useful too.

"Angel!" Amy ran to her side as the Doctor looked at the destroyed TV in shock, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she nodded, taking a few deep breaths, "Fine…just…give me a moment…"

"So it was here?" River looked at the TV, making Amy frown at how the woman was more concerned with the projection than the girl sweating and panting on the floor who had just likely saved them all from dealing with the angel that early, "That was the angel?"

"That was a _projection_ of the angel," the Doctor corrected, "It's reaching out, getting a good look at us. It's no longer dormant."

Something exploded outside and they ran out the door, Amy helping Angel, supporting her a bit, "It's gone positive!" a soldier reported to Octavian.

"Doctor!" he turned, "We're through!"

"Ok," the Doctor looked at them, "Now it starts."

He walked over to Octavian as Amy rubbed her left eye, "Coming?" River called back to them.

"Yeah, coming," Amy nodded, "There's just...something in my eye."

"Are you alright?" Angel asked her, the vision repeating in her mind.

Amy nodded and followed River off, but she knew, instinctively she knew, she'd been too late to stop the angel…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can say that Angel will also have some of her own theories about who River Song is to the Doctor (and her), but it'll be quite a while before we see who she is }:)


	13. The Time of Angels: The Mortarium

The Doctor made his way down a rope ladder and joined Octavian at the bottom of the main chamber of the catacombs. They turned on their torches and looked around, Amy and River joining them, Angel finishing off the climb despite being in a dress, she knew no one would be looking up her skirt as she climbed, all the men there were of the church and highly professional. She reached the bottom rung and moved to step off, when her boot caught on it and she stumbled back, nearly falling over had someone not jolted forward and caught her.

She gasped as she felt someone grab her, her eyes locking with the Doctor's. She wasn't mid-fall or anything, really had just stumbled and nearly tripped if he hadn't steadied her. But...his arms were still around her, supporting her even though she was still and balanced again, "Thanks," she whispered.

But the Doctor just stared at her, a small yet thoughtful frown on his face as his eyes stared into her own, his breath catching in his throat.

Something that earned a rather narrow glare from River, not that anyone could see in the darkness of the chamber.

Angel frowned, seeing him just...looking at her, not letting her go, in fact...it almost felt like his arms were tightening around her, "Doctor?"

"Right," he shook his head and quickly let go of her, stepping back as well, "Sorry."

What had _that_ been? He wondered about it a moment, he'd been about to let her go, about to just set her upright again and tell her she was welcome for it but...something had stopped him. He'd just felt...warm. There was a warmth that had rushed through him at the sensation of having Angel in his arms. He...couldn't actually remember holding her or even hugging her in this body of his, that was the first time he'd really touched her now that he thought about it. It was...nice...made him feel fuzzy...happy...

He shook his head, no, it was probably just the excitement and danger around them that was making him feel so giddy, "Do we have a gravity globe?" he turned to the men.

Angel eyed him a moment, even more confused about everything than before. She really wished she'd paid more attention in school now, maybe they would have (or had) taught her something that would be useful now. She didn't understand him. At times it was like he couldn't be far enough away from her, both physically and emotionally, but then...there were times like just then where they _were_ close, where they had a moment, and he just...ignored it. Why let himself have it if he didn't want it? She closed her eyes a moment, trying not to let her hopes rise that, perhaps, he still _did_ feel something for her after all.

"Grav globe," Octavian held out a hand. One of the men pulled a sphere out of his pack and handed it to him.

"Where are we?" Amy squinted in the darkness, "What is this?"

"It's an Aplan mortarium," River flashed her torch around, "Sometimes called a maze of the dead."

"And what's that?"

"Well, if you happen to be a creature of living stone..." the Doctor said, kicking the gravity globe up into the air like a football. It stopped at its peak and lit up the cave, showing a large number of statues, "The perfect hiding place."

"I guess this makes it a bit trickier," Octavian sighed as they looked around.

Angel frowned, looking out at the maze, shifting a bit, getting a very, VERY bad feeling about all this.

"A bit, yeah."

"A stone angel on the loose amongst stone statues. A lot harder than I'd prayed for."

"A needle in a haystack," River remarked.

"A needle that _looks_ like hay," the Doctor continued, "A hay-like needle. Of death. A hay-like needle of death in a haystack of, er, statues. No," he grimaced as his thoughts got away from him, "Yours was fine."

"Something's wrong," Angel said quietly, looking at the few statues that were set up around them, "Something's very, very wrong."

She could feel it, looking at them, they were wrong. They were SO wrong. But why? She rubbed her head, the migraine had struck completely now. It was almost like...everything around them was wrong, and it was pushing against her, pressing down on her mind, trying to tell her something she just couldn't quite...grasp yet.

"What is it?" the Doctor looked at her intently, recognizing the tone of her voice, it was a tone he'd come to know meant she should be listened to, because it was important. Not that everything she said wasn't important, Angel's words were always important, Angel was the sort of woman who should be listened to, noticed...

"I don't know…" she admitted with a sigh.

"Well that's helpful," River murmured dryly with a roll of her eyes.

"I just…" Angel looked at her, "I can't quite _see_ it yet. There's too many things that are wrong, I can't single one out. Because it's not _one_ thing," she turned to the Doctor again, "It's _everything_."

Octavian looked her a moment before nodding his head slowly, "Right…" he turned to his men, "Check every single statue in this chamber. You know what you're looking for. Complete visual inspection. One question, how do we fight it?" he looked at the Doctor.

"We find it, and hope," the Doctor walked off, Amy and Angel following.

River went to follow as well, when Octavian grabbed her by the arm, "He doesn't know yet, and neither does she, do they? Who and what you are? What you did?"

"It's too early in their time stream," she agreed with a smirk.

He tightened his grip on her arm, all too aware of her past, of what she'd done, of the damage it had caused. And those two, that man had no idea what was coming for him in Utah because of this woman, and that girl...he recognized her now. He DID know _of_ her, hadn't heard Dr. Song mention her once, hadn't been expecting her to be there, but now he knew who she was, what she was, what she could do, what would happen to the Time Lords. He did NOT like that smirk on her face, that pleased smirk that told him she was only all to happy that the knowledge was not with the duo yet. That girl was sweet, everyone knew what would happen to her and the Doctor because of Dr. Song, he would NOT see that come to fruition now.

"Well, make sure they don't work it out," he hissed, "Or not even the Angel will help us."

"I won't let you down," River rolled her eyes, "Believe you me, I have no intention of going back to prison."

"Sir?" a soldier stepped over, "Side chamber. One visible exit."

"Check it out," he nodded, "Angelo! Go with him."

"No!" Angel shouted, looking back at them, having heard him call for Angelo from a short distance away with the Doctor, feeling a flash of fear race through her at the thought of the men going off alone, "Don't go. Trust me. _Don't_ let them go."

Octavian paused, hearing a seriousness in her words. He looked at River questioningly, the rumors of the Angel's talents were well known, but he hadn't experienced for himself how accurate they might be.

River pursed her lips, "Believe her," she said quickly.

Octavian nodded and motioned the soldiers back, to follow them through the maze instead.

~8~

The Doctor flashed his torch in every direction as he walked through the maze, Angel close behind him, though taking the lead when he paused to look at a statue with a scanner. She walked off a few feet ahead, her outline barely visible in the darkness as she looked around.

Amy stopped and looked at the levels above them, all the statues lining the way and rubbed her eye with a finger, finding a little grit on it. She frowned and used her full hand to rub her eye, dark sand and more grit falling through her fingers. Scared, she quickly stopped and looked at her hand...only to find it normal, no sand at all.

"You alright?" River asked as she came up beside her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. So, what's a maze of the dead?"

"Oh, it's not as bad as it sounds. It's just a labyrinth with dead people buried in the walls. Ok," she winced, "That _was_ fairly bad. Right give me your arm," she showed her a syringe, "This won't hurt a bit," and gave Amy a shot.

"Ow!"

"There, you see. I lied. Learned from the very best," she glanced at the Doctor a moment, "It's a viro-stabilizer. Stabilizes your metabolism against radiation, drive burn, anything. You're going to need it when we get up to that ship."

"So...what're they like?" Amy asked her quietly, glancing at the Doctor as well, "The Doctor, in the future, I mean. 'Cos you know him in the future, don't you?"

"The Doctor?" River smiled, happy to talk about HIM at least, "Well, the Doctor's the Doctor."

"Oh, well that's very helpful. Mind if I write that down?"

"Yes, we are!" River called out.

"Sorry, what?" the Doctor called back, taking a reading down on the scanner.

"Talking about you."

"I wasn't listening, I'm busy."

"Ah. The other way up."

The Doctor turned the device over and looked at River, "Yeah."

"You're _so_ his wife," Amy laughed.

River, though, glanced at Angel, before smirking, "Oh, Amy, Amy, Amy! This is _the Doctor_ we're talking about. Do you really think it could be anything _that_ simple?"

"Yep."

"You're good," she spoke, just a tiny bit louder, "I'm not saying you're right...but you are _very_ good, and it's not like he's _married_ ," she looked over to see Angel, who had glanced over at them, look away and walk off a little bit further.

Amy frowned, seeing that, realizing that River had done that intentionally, spoken louder so _Angel_ would hear her in particular, not the Doctor. But that didn't make sense, why would River care that Angel knew about her and the Doctor in the future? Angel and the Doctor weren't in a relationship, sure, she'd noticed that Angel seemed a bit...close and...different around the Doctor. She got quiet at the oddest times and looked at him as though...as though he should _realize_ something. She supposed, maybe, Angel did care quite a good deal about the Doctor, but the Doctor, to _her_ , had made it quite clear he was single and unattached, which was excellent for her.

But still, it didn't explain River and how she kept acting around Angel. She knew the Doctor could be oblivious at times, but she'd also seen that River was almost...careful...in how she phrased things around Angel, how she acted, her tones and looks, like she was purposefully trying to keep the Doctor from noticing. But why didn't she like Angel? Angel was so nice, really nice, like Rory. Sweet and nice and caring.

"What about Angel?" she asked.

"What about her?" River shrugged.

"Why don't you like her?"

"Why does everyone always assume I don't like her?" River huffed a bit, as though she'd gotten asked that question a lot.

"Well…do you?" Amy gave her a look, it really _was_ quite obvious that River didn't care for the Time Lady a good deal.

"No," River sighed.

"Why not?"

Before River could answer the sound of gunfire reached them.

The Doctor ran back down to the main chamber, the girls following him, to see a young cleric had fired at one of the statues, "Sorry," he looked down, "Sorry, I thought...I thought it looked at me."

Angel frowned and walked over to the statue, eyeing it intently as Octavian rounded on the boy, scolding him, "We know what the angel looks like. Is _that_ the angel?"

"No, sir," the boy bowed his head.

"No, sir, it is not! According to the Doctor, we are facing an enemy of unknowable power and infinite evil. So it would be good, it would be very good, if we could all remain calm in the presence of decor."

"He's right to be on guard though," Angel turned around and stepped over, moving beside the young cleric and putting an arm around him, not liking how he was being yelled at just for being scared. It was natural, he didn't need the shouts, if anything, all he needed was a little reassurance and he'd be ok, "What's your name?" she smiled, "Hold on..." she eyed him, "Something with a B?"

"Bob, ma'am," he answered, looking at her a bit impressed and a bit shocked, "How did you know?"

"She's psychic," the Doctor stated.

Angel's smile fell a bit, hearing him sounding like he was literally just making a statement and not a sweet remark, "And you're a thief," she countered.

"That's a great name though," the Doctor grinned, "I love Bob."

"It's a _Sacred_ Name," Octavian explained, "We all have Sacred Names, they're given to us in the service of the Church."

"Sacred Bob," the Doctor walked over, "More like Scared Bob now, eh?"

"Yes, sir," he nodded.

"It's ok Bob," Angel gave him a small squeeze, making him look at her, not seeing the Doctor's gaze drop to her arm around the boy or eyeing how close together they were standing, "It's natural to be scared," she rubbed his arm, "I'm scared."

"You are ma'am?" Bob blinked at her, startled, neither of them noticing the Doctor frown at that, at the fact that Angel was scared.

That...wasn't right. That wasn't right at all. Angel shouldn't be scared, she should be protected and feel safe and know things would be ok. She should know he'd always be there to protect her, it was his job as her mate...he winced at the word again, he didn't know why he kept doing that, friends looked out for each other.

Angel nodded, "I am, but you know what," she nudged him, "We'll all look out for each other yeah?"

"Yes," the Doctor nodded, cutting in, a bit pleased when the two looked over at him once more and not at each other, "Scared is good. Scared keeps you fast. Anyone in this room who isn't scared is a moron. Carry on!" he turned to head out of the chamber once more.

Angel gave Bob one more small squeeze before stepping away and moving to follow the Doctor.

"We'll be moving into the maze in two minutes," Octavian called out, before looking at Bob, "You stay here. Guard the approach."

"No," Angel turned around, "I told you before Bishop, don't let anyone alone. We all stick together or…"

"Yes, thank you for your opinion ma'am," Octavian sighed, "But _I'm_ in charge of my Clerics, they will do as ordered," he understood she was psychic, but she couldn't see everything, they needed at least _one_ pair of eyes to guard the approach and Bob seemed more reassured at the moment, "Now, keep watch."

Angel frowned, watching as Octavian turned to start down the maze. She looked over at Bob who tried to give her a small smile. She managed to muster one in return, though it fell the moment she turned around. Her hearts were tugging at this, she could insist all she wanted that Bob go with them, but she got the feeling Octavian was a stubborn man and her protests would be ignored until she had a real and true feeling or vision and not just a sense that they should all stay together.

~8~

"Isn't there a chance this lot's just gonna collapse?" Amy looked around as they walked up an upward passage, "There's a whole ship up there."

"Incredible builders, the Aplans," River sighed as they stepped through an archway.

"Had dinner with their chief architect once," the Doctor recalled, "Remember that Angel?"

"Don't remind me," Angel grimaced. She'd gotten stuck between two very chatty Aplans and one of them had rather bad breath. That had been with his 9th self though, far less sweet than quite a few of their other trips, she wasn't surprised he remembered that one. He'd spent half the time making fun of Rose and Jack and how the humans had been trying to keep up with two conversations going at once. At least, until the chief architect had asked him if SHE was his second head, which made him blush. That moment was gone though.

"Two heads are better than one."

"You mean you helped him?" Amy guessed.

"No, he means he literally had two heads," Angel said.

"That book, the very end, what did it say?" the Doctor called to River.

"Hang on," River flipped through the book.

"Read it to me."

"'What if we had ideas that could think for themselves? What if one day our dreams no longer needed us? When these things occur and are held to be true, the time will be upon us. The time of angels.'"

~8~

Bob spun around, hearing a whoosh of air only to see nothing. He tightened his grip on his gun, not seeing the shadow of an angel appear on the wall behind him.

~8~

"Are we there yet?" Amy moaned, "It's a hell of a climb."

Angel opened her mouth to answer, actually knowing why it was built the way it was from that trip, when River beat her to it, "The maze is on six levels representing the ascent of the soul. Only two levels to go."

"Lovely species, the Aplans," the Doctor said, glancing at Angel, "We should visit them again some time."

He hoped she'd say yes, despite the bad breath of that one bloke, she'd seemed to have had a lovely time. She'd been laughing and smiling and curious and excited and just enjoyed herself. He felt like she wasn't so much at the moment. She hadn't really in the museum either. Perhaps he'd let her pick the next trip, let her pick somewhere _she_ wanted to go. It really...bothered him...to see her so...quiet and...sullen. Quite a lot really. He wanted to see her smiling and happy and laughing, like her old selves, like how she was before he'd regenerated too he recalled. He felt a bit...worried that she was so sullen because of him, because of the new him that he was.

Was he someone she just...didn't like? Was it his personality? His appearance? His...bowtie? He hoped not, he loved his bowtie, bowties were cool. He didn't think it was him, she seemed to like him well enough when they met Amy, but he _did_ see she was a bit more down than she used to be. And it tugged on his hearts to see her like that. Yes, he'd let her pick the next trip, that would certainly cheer her up quite a lot, it was like how the companions cheered him up.

"I thought they were all dead?" Amy shook her head.

"So's Virginia Woolf. I'm on her bowling team and Angel's her alternate. Very relaxed, sort of cheerful. That's having two heads. You're never short of a snog with an extra head."

"Doctor, there's something," River cut in, "I don't know what it is..."

"Now you know how I feel," Angel remarked, eyeing the statues closely as though trying to place it.

"Yeah, something wrong," the Doctor agreed, "Don't know what it is yet either, working on it," he turned to continue on, "Then they started having laws against self-marrying and what was that about? But that's the church for you. Erm, no offence, Bishop."

"Quite a lot taken, if that's alright, Doctor," Octavian replied as they stepped into a passage, a narrow one that was filled with statues in a row to the side, "Lowest point in the wreckage is only about 50 feet up from here. That way."

"Church had a point, if you think about it," Amy joked, "The divorces must have been messy."

Angel suddenly stopped and looked at a statue as it hit her, "Oh my God…"

"What's wrong?"

"Oh!" the Doctor's eyes widened in realization as he too looked at the statue.

"Oh my God…" River repeated, "How could we not notice that?"

"Low level perception filter, or maybe we're thick."

Angel swallowed, it was neither, the Doctor had proved she could see past perception filters when they'd tried to stop the Master. They weren't thick because the Doctor was brilliant, and...and so was River. And she was trying to be clever herself. No...it was something else, it was like there were so many statues that they just...didn't notice, like there were too many that they crowded around in her head and made it fuzzy and hard to see just one thing wrong.

"What's wrong, sir?" Octavian looked over.

"Nobody move," the Doctor took charge, "Everyone stay exactly where they are. Bishop, I am truly sorry. I've made a mistake and we are all in danger."

"What danger?"

"The Aplans," River began.

"The Aplans?"

"They've got two heads."

"Yes, I get that. So?"

"The statues don't," Angel finished, staring at the statue before her, _one_ head.

"Everyone, over there!" the Doctor gestured to a space in the back of the passage, away from the statues, "Just move, don't ask questions, don't speak," everyone moved to the open spot, "Ok, I want you all to switch off your torches."

"Sir?" Octavian gaped.

"Just do it," they turned off their lights, so only his, directed at a statue's face, was on, "Ok. I'm going to turn off this one too, just for a moment."

"Are you sure about this?" River whispered.

The Doctor, however, looked at Angel instead, almost seeming to the others as though he wanted her go-ahead first.

"Only for a second," she told him warningly.

He nodded and quickly switched his torch off and back on. The statues in front of them were now _all_ facing them.

"Oh, my God!" Amy stared as the Doctor ran ahead, "They've moved."

They followed the Doctor, looking at the statues lining their way to the ship, "They're angels," the Doctor murmured, "All of them!"

"But they _can't_ be," River argued.

"Clerics, keep watching them," the Doctor backtracked to see all the angels they had passed on the way up were moving forward, towards them, "Every statue in this maze, every single one, is a Weeping Angel. They're coming after us."

~8~

Bob crept forward quietly, following a noise he'd heard, when he spun around at another, screaming as the angel attacked.

~8~

Angel shivered violently, looking back at the way they'd come, feeling a pit drop into her already twisting stomach, something had happened.

"There was only one angel on the ship," River turned to the Doctor, sounding desperate that he believe her that she'd _never_ put him danger like this, "Just the one, I _swear_."

"Could they have been here already?" Amy frowned.

"The Aplans," Angel realized, looking up, "What happened to them, in the end?"

"Nobody knows," River replied.

"We know," the Doctor looked around.

"They don't look like angels," Octavian commented, eyeing one on the ground reaching out for them, its face distorted, no wings.

"And they're not fast," Amy agreed, "You said they were fast. They should have had us by now."

"They're dying," Angel said, eyeing the angel, feeling just...a tiny bit of empathy for the statue, it must be a cruel fate to slowly die from the inside out, well, she would know wouldn't she? It had happened to her more often than she'd like to recall, "Becoming shapeless stones," she glanced around, "They've been here for centuries, trapped, with no one to feed on."

"Losing their image."

"And their image is their power," the Doctor nodded, "Power. Power!"

"Doctor?"

"Don't you see? All that radiation spilling out, the drive burn. The crash wasn't an accident, it was a _rescue mission_ , for the angels. We're in the middle of an army and it's waking up."

"We need to get out of here fast," River stated.

"Bob, come in, please," Octavian grabbed the comm., needing to get all his men together, "Bob, come in!"

"It's Bob, sir," Bob replied, Angel looking sharply over at the comm. as something...struck her, "Sorry, sir."

"Bob, all the statues are active. I repeat, all the statues are active!"

"I know, sir."

The Doctor took the comm., "Bob, Sacred Bob, it's me, the Doctor. Where are you now?"

"I'm talking to my..." Octavian frowned.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, shut up!"

"I'm on my way up to you, sir, I'm homing on your signal," Bob added.

"Well done, Bob. Scared keeps you fast, told you, didn't I?"

Octavian rounded on Angel, "If we had men back there we would have been warned about this!"

"Don't be an idiot," the Doctor snapped at Octavian, moving to come stand between him and Angel, his shoulders tense, his eyes narrowed at the man, something inside him not liking the man yelling at her like that, something inside him wanting to shove the man back from her.

"If you had left men back there they would be dead too," Angel shot back.

Octavian blinked, "What do you mean 'too?'"

Angel's eyes widened, having not even realized she'd said that, before turning to the Doctor, realizing the truth of her statement, "The angels...they don't usually leave you alive, do they?"

The Doctor looked down at the comm., one man couldn't possibly keep his eye on all the angels down there, "Bob…tell me, how did you escape?"

"I didn't escape, sir," Bob answered, "The angel killed me."

"What do you mean 'the angel killed you?'"

"Snapped my neck, sir. Wasn't as painless as I expected but it was pretty quick, so that was something."

"But…that's not how the angels kill you, they displace you in time. Unless they needed the bodies for something."

Angel looked at Octavian, who appeared to be in shock, "I told you not to leave him there."

"If you're dead, how can I be talking to you?"

"You're not talking to me, sir," Bob explained, "The angel has no voice. It stripped my cerebral cortex from my body and reanimated a version of my consciousness to communicate with you. Sorry about the confusion."

"So when you say _you're_ on your way up to us..."

"It's the angel that's coming, sir, yes."

"No way out."

"Then we get out through the wreckage," Octavian determined, "Go!"

"Go, go, go! All of you run!"

"Doctor?" Amy shouted as he ushered them on.

"Yes, I'm coming, just go, go, go!" Amy and River turned to leave with the Clerics, leaving the Doctor, Angel, and Octavian, "Called you an idiot. Sorry."

"At least we managed to save Christian and Angelo," Angel mumbled, though it didn't make her feel better at all.

"Yes," Octavian agreed grimly, "But when you've flown away in your little blue box, I'll explain that to Bob's family."

"It's his own fault," Angel muttered as he stormed off, "I warned him."

"I know," the Doctor sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder a moment, squeezing it, wanting her to feel better since Octavian had nearly seemed like he was blaming her when, really, he HAD ignored her warning not to leave Bob alone, before picking up the comm., "Angel Bob, which angel am I talking to? The one from the ship?"

"Yes, sir," it answered, "The other angels are still restoring."

"Ah, so the angel is _not_ in the wreckage. Thank you," he turned and ran along a passage with Angel, stopping short when they saw Amy standing there, "Don't wait for us, go, run."

"I can't!" Amy yelled, Angel stopping by her side as the Doctor ran back to see what had happened, "No, really I can't."

"Why not?"

"Look at it. Look at my hand. It's stone!" the hand gripping the rail beside her was stone...as she gazed on it at least.

~8~

River, Octavian, and the Clerics arrived in an open chamber where they could see the bottom of the ship crashed through the roof, "Well," Octavian remarked, "There it is, the _Byzantium_."

"Well, it's got to be 30 feet," River added, "How do we get up there?"

"Check all these exits," he ordered his men, "I want them all secure."

~8~

The Doctor examined Amy, flashing a torch in her eyes as Angel stood behind him, looking at the girl's normal hand...well, normal to them at least, "You looked into the eyes of an angel, didn't you?" he guessed.

"I couldn't stop myself," she frowned, "I tried."

"Listen. It's messing with your head. Your hand is _not_ made of stone."

"It is. Look at it!"

"It's in your mind. I promise you. You can move that hand. You can let go."

"I can't, ok? I've tried and I can't. It's stone."

The light of the torch flickered, "The angel is gonna come and it's gonna turn this light off, and then there's nothing I can do to stop it. So do it, concentrate, move your hand!"

"I _can't_."

"Then we're all going to die."

"You're not going to die."

"They'll kill the lights."

The light flickered off a moment as the angels moved closer, the Doctor looking at it over Amy's shoulder, keeping his eye on them as Amy spoke, "You've got to go, you know you have. You've got all that stuff with River and that's all got to happen. You know you can't die here!"

Angel closed her eyes tightly a moment before looking down at her hand, rubbing her thumb and forefinger together as a golden energy grew between them. She had thought to use it against the angels in the transport unit, but they fed on energy, the Vortex would be like a 7-course dinner to them, but she might be able to help snap Amy out of this.

"Time can be rewritten, it doesn't work like that," the Doctor murmured as the lights flickered again, Amy turned to look back at the angels over her shoulder, "Keep your eyes on it. Don't blink."

"Run!"

"You see, I'm not going, I'm not leaving you here."

"Neither am I," Angel agreed.

"I don't need you to die for me," Amy said, "Do I look that clingy?"

"You can move your hand," the Doctor insisted.

"It's stone."

"It's not stone!"

"Those people up there will die without you. If you stay here with me, you'll have as good as killed them."

"Amy Pond..." he began, when he noticed the golden sparks growing between Angel's fingers and grinned, "You are magnificent. And I'm sorry."

"It's ok. I understand. You've got to leave me."

"Oh, no, we're not leaving you, never. I'm sorry about this," he looked at Angel who slapped Amy's hand with her own, sending a spark of the golden energy into the girl's hand, stinging her, making Amy snap her hand back with a gasp, "See, not stone. Now run!"

"You shocked me!" Amy accused Angel, and then the Doctor, "You made her shock me!"

"Yep and you're alive."

"I've got a mark!" she rubbed the red patch of her skin, "Look at my hand!"

The Doctor pulled her behind him, Angel pulling her out of the room, "Yeah, and you're alive, did I mention?"

"Blimey, that hurt!"

"Alive. All I'm saying."

And they turned and ran, "The statues are advancing along all corridors," they heard a Cleric report as they got closer to the chamber, "And, sir, my torch keeps flickering."

"They all do," Octavian replied.

"So does the gravity globe," River added.

"Clerics, we're down to four men. Expect incoming."

"Yeah, it's the angels," the Doctor shouted as they ran in, "They're coming. And they're draining the power for themselves."

"Which means we won't be able to see them."

"Which means we can't stay here."

"There are more incoming!" a Cleric reported.

"Any suggestions?" River turned to him.

"The statues are advancing on all sides and we don't have the climbing equipment to reach the _Byzantium_ ," Octavian added.

"There's no way up, no way back, no way out. No pressure, but this is usually when you have a really good idea."

"There's always a way out," he murmured as the lights flickered off again, more angels in the passageways, blocking them, "There's always a way out."

"Doctor?" Bob came over the comm., "Can I speak to the Doctor, please?"

"Hello, angels. What's your problem?"

"Your power will not last much longer, and the angels will be with you shortly. Sorry, sir."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"There's something the angels are very keen you and your Angel should know before the end."

"Which is?" the Doctor frowned as Angel frowned at whatever the message was, neither of them noticing he hadn't corrected Bob for calling her _his_ Angel.

"I died in fear."

"I'm sorry?"

Angel closed her eyes at that, she understood all too well how that felt, she'd felt the same in the TARDIS when she'd died last time.

"You told me my fear would keep me alive but I died afraid, in pain, and alone. You both made me trust you, and when it mattered, you let me down."

"What are they doing?" Amy asked River quietly.

"They're trying to make him angry," River replied, her lips pursed as she saw the Doctor watching Angel closely, seeing the concern in his expression, how his grip on the comm. was turning white and starting to shake as he saw the hurt reflected on her face, clearly more affected by how upset Angel was than what Bob had directed at him.

"Anger is always the shortest distance to a mistake," Angel said softly. The Doctor eyed her carefully as she opened her eyes and met his gaze for a moment before looking up at the gravity globe.

"I'm sorry, sir," Bob spoke again, "The angels were very keen for you both to know that."

"Well then, the angels have made their second mistake because I'm not going to let that pass," the Doctor said into the comm., making Amy frown at the subtle tremor of anger in it, glancing back and forth between him and Angel as he stared at her intently, not looking away as he spoke, "I'm sorry you're dead, Bob, but I swear to whatever is left of you, they will be sorrier."

"But you're trapped, sir, and about to die."

"Yeah, I'm trapped. Speaking of traps, this trap has got a great big mistake in it. A great big, whopping mistake!"

"What mistake, sir?"

The Doctor pulled his attention away from Angel to look at Amy, "Trust me?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

He turned to River, "Trust me?"

"Always," was her instant reply.

Then to back Angel, "Angel?"

"Would I still be here if I didn't?" she countered with a small sad smile.

He grinned and finally turned to Octavian, "You lot, trust me?"

"Sir, two more incoming!" a cleric warned.

"We have faith, sir," Octavian nodded.

"Then give me your gun," he held out a hand and Octavian handed it over, "I'm about to do something incredibly stupid and dangerous. When I do..." he jumped, "Jump."

"Jump where?"

"Just jump, high as you can. Come on, leap of faith, Bishop. On my signal."

"What signal?"

"You won't miss it," he aimed the gun up.

"Sorry, can I ask again?" Bob began, "You mentioned a mistake?"

"Oh, big mistake," he said into the comm., "Huge. There's one thing you never put in a trap, if you're smart, if you value your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow, there is one thing you never, _ever_ put in a trap."

"And what would that be, sir?"

"Me!" and then he fired at the gravity globe, making it explode...

To be continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Angel :( She's got to trust that it'll be ok, that the Doctor will remember her one day and that's why she's still there, that's why she's still with him. I can say though, there will come a point where Angel might strongly consider and even plan to leave the TARDIS, but we'll have to see why }:)
> 
> On another note. Yesterday I was listening to the Enchanted soundtrack...and all I could think about was that Giselle reminds me SO much of Angel lol. So kind and innocent and even when someone's trying to kill her she's just trying to see the good in them but when she's hurt she's deeply hurt :) Lol, now I'm picturing Rachel Weisz dressed in Giselle's gown and River dressed as Narissa. Oh boy...and sleep deprivation kicks in lol :)


	14. Flesh and Stone: Secondary Flight Deck

Amy sat up on the ground as everyone recovered from the jump when the Doctor leapt up, yelling, "Up! Look up!"

"Are you ok Amy?" Angel asked, moving right to the girl's side and helping her stand, checking her over to make sure she hadn't been hurt in the jump, it was quite sudden and none of the humans, save maybe River, had understood what was going to happen. Well, and her. She knew, but she'd sort of felt it coming, managed to work it out right near the end, which was nice, she found she actually liked working things out on her own at times. It used to be fun and playful, her and the Doctor, when she'd get stuck on something, he'd give her little hints and nudges in the right direction, little touches and kisses when she got it right, but for now she was just pleased to know she could still work some things out on her own.

"What happened?" Amy frowned, rubbing her head as she looked around, not sure where they were now or how they'd gotten wherever it was that they were.

"We jumped," River replied.

"Jumped where?"

"Up, up, look up!" the Doctor called again.

"Where are we?"

"Exactly where we were," River answered.

"No we're not."

"Move your feet!" the Doctor shouted as he soniced an indentation on the floor, nudging Amy's feet away from it.

"Doctor, what am I looking at?" Amy huffed, stepping back, "Explain."

"Oh, come on, Amy, think! The ship crashed with the power still on, yeah? So what else is still on?"

Angel put a hand on Amy's shoulder, "The gravity," she told the girl, it was something the TARDIS had as well, gravity within so that while travelling in space they wouldn't be floating all over the place, and even anti-gravs so that when they were floating above a planet or a black hole they wouldn't get sucked to it. She nodded to the side and up a bit, which made Amy frown, the girl turning to look up...to see they were standing on the underside of the _Byzantium_.

The Doctor cheered, "One good jump," he jumped in place, "And up we fell. Shot out the grav-globe to give us an updraft, and here we are!" he turned back to sonicing the indentation again, needing to get it open...for all his smiling and cheers and excitement he was projecting to the others...he felt quite different on the inside.

His hearts were racing, his mind well aware that he hadn't saved them just yet, he hadn't gotten them out of danger. At most, he'd bought them just a little time, he'd gotten them out of the reach of the angels, who were trapped on the ground, but only for the moment. And he was frantic to try and get them farther away, get them all to safety and work out a way to stop the angels from growing even stronger. He frowned, looking at his hand, it was shaking as he flashed the sonic around, but he didn't know why. Yes, it was a terrible situation, yes they were all in danger, but it was no different than any other adventure really.

Perhaps it was because this was the second adventure in his new body that had him facing an old enemy. Yes, perhaps that was it. The Daleks, well, he was more angry with them than truly scared of them, though he _had_ been worried and fearful during that encounter too...though a bit more for Angel really. He paused, blinking as his hearts zinged, and he realized...he was worried about Angel now too. He was worried what this encounter with the Weeping Angels might mean for her. He didn't know why though, it wasn't like she'd met them before, she'd been in the TARDIS when he'd gotten trapped in 1969 with Martha. Maybe that was it? Maybe he was worried since this was the first time she'd have to deal with them and now she was forced to face an army of them. He'd told her about the angels when he and Martha had returned, she knew what she was facing, she must be scared.

He glanced over at her, for what was admittedly not the first time since they'd jumped, and saw her more worried and focused on Amy than the angels. He had to smile at that, not just because she was fretting over his companion, trying to comfort her, but also...she didn't...appear worried really. She didn't look too scared, though he was sure she might feel it. But he got the feeling that it was because she trusted him to get them out of there...and he would not let her down now. No, he promised himself that he would get them out, get Angel out, all safe and sound and stop the angels too. He nodded to himself and got back to work.

"Doctor," Octavian called, "The statues, they look more like angels now."

The others glanced up to see the angels were now partially formed, some in tunics some with wings half out of their backs.

"They're feeding on the radiation from the wreckage, draining all the power from the ship, restoring themselves," the Doctor nodded, "Within an hour, they'll be an army!" the indentation opened and led into the ship just as the lights around them began to flicker, "They're taking out the lights. Look at them, look at the angels. Into the ship, now, quickly all of you!" he hopped into the hole.

"But how?" Amy moved to the hole, "Doctor!" she peered into it to see the Doctor standing upright, though from her vantage point from the side of a wall.

"It's just a corridor. The gravity orientates to the floor. Now, in here, all of you, don't take your eyes off the angels. Move, move, move!" he turned and used a sonic on a keypad while Angel ushered Amy in and followed.

"Ok, men, go, go, go!" Octavian commanded as he, the Clerics, and River joined him, "The angels, presumably they can jump up too?"

The hatch closed as soon as they were inside, and the Doctor nodded, turning to lead them down the hall, "They're here. Now. In the dark, we're finished. Run!"

Unfortunately, a large door that led to the rest of the hall closed in front of them, trapping them inside, "This whole place is a death trap."

"No, it's a time bomb. Well, it's a death trap _and_ a time bomb. And now it's a dead end. Nobody panic!" he spun around, to see that they were all standing there, relatively calm, even as the angels banged against the exterior door, "Oh, just me then," he mumbled, glancing at Angel to see her giving him a small smile, which made him start to smile as well, before he shook his head, needing to focus on their next escape, "What's through here?" he nodded back at the door that had cut them off.

"Secondary flight deck," River said.

"Ok," Amy looked at him as River turned to work on bypassing the power, "So we've basically run up the inside of a chimney, yeah? So what if the gravity fails?"

"I've thought about that," the Doctor nodded.

"And?"

"And we'll all plunge to our deaths," he winced, feeling rather alarmed at the thought before he shook it off, "See? I've thought about it. The security protocols are still live. There's no way to override them, it's impossible."

"How impossible?" River called, throwing him a knowing and playful smirk.

He started to smirk back, liking the challenging note in her voice, "Two minutes."

"Might want to make it one," Angel breathed a moment before the hum of the engines powered down and the door they'd come through reopened so they could see the cavern outside.

"The hull is breached and the power's failing," Octavian yelled.

The lights went out completely before flickering back on and an angel arm reached though the opening, "Sir!" a Cleric shouted, spotting it, when the lights went out and stayed off, "Incoming!"

"Doctor!" Amy gasped, "Lights."

The Doctor turned and flashed the sonic at a few wires by River, the lights coming on briefly to reveal an angel climbing in, to flicker and reveal four angels inside the corridor with them.

"Clerics, keep watching them," Octavian glared at the statues.

"And don't look at their eyes," the Doctor called, looking at the sonic, "Anywhere else. Not the eyes. I've isolated the lighting grid. They can't drain the power now."

"Good work, Doctor."

"Yes. good. Good in many ways, good you like it so far..."

"So far?" Amy gave him a look.

"Well, there's only one way to open this door. I guess I'll need to route all the power in this section through the door control."

"Good, fine, do it," Octavian ordered.

" _Including_ the lights. All of them. I'll need to turn out the lights."

"How long for?"

"Fraction of a second, maybe longer. Maybe quite a bit longer."

"Maybe?"

"I'm guessing. We're being attacked by statues in a crashed ship, there isn't a manual for this!"

"Doctor, we lost the torches," Amy reminded him, "We'll be in total darkness."

"I might be able to help," Angel said, stepping over beside River and placing both her hands on the wires running from a control box. She closed her eyes and focused, her hands starting to glow a soft gold, the white lights above them slowly turning gold as well. She had thought, since the Vortex was really like pure energy that, perhaps, she could use some of it to power the lights herself. If the power source was her and that was it, then it would be independent of the power channeling through the door. She remembered when they'd been facing the Elemental Shade, how the torch she'd been holding had started to take on a more golden light, she'd hoped it might work the same and so it seemed like it was.

"Brilliant!" the Doctor cheered, grinning madly at that. It _was_ brilliant! _She_ was brilliant! Well, she was always brilliant really. Literally, she glowed, she was glowing at the moment too. If she was supplying the power to the lights then he could divert the other power to the controls. He turned around, about to start on just that when Octavian called out.

"Wait!" the Doctor paused as the man turned to River, not wanting to waste time trying to get the door open when they weren't sure what would be lurking within the ship, for all he knew the man was about to lead them to another dead end, "Dr. Song, I lost a good Cleric today. You trust this man?"

"I absolutely trust him," River said firmly.

"He's not some kind of madman then?"

River stared at him a moment, "I absolutely trust him."

"Excuse me," the Doctor went back to the door.

Octavian pulled River a little off to the side, speaking quietly to her so Angel couldn't hear, being the nearest to them, though he doubted he had much to worry about, she was rather focused, her face scrunched in concentration of keeping the lights going, "I'm taking your word, because you seem to be the only one who can manage this guy, at the moment," he gave her a meaningful look which set her lips into a pursed line, "But that only works so long as neither he nor the Angel know who you are or what you'll do. You cost me even a single man more, and I might just tell them," it had been a part of the bargain, her help in exchange for their silence of the future that was waiting for the Doctor, "Understood?"

"Understood," River nodded, yanking her arm away from him with a glare.

"Ok," Octavian stepped back, "Doctor, we've got your back."

"Bless you," the Doctor smiled, "Bishop."

"Combat distance, ten feet," he turned to the Clerics, "If the lights go down, continuous fire. Full spread over the hostiles. Do _not_ stop firing if the lights should go out. Shot gun protocol, we don't have bullets to waste."

"Amy, when I say, the wheel should release," the Doctor turned Amy to kneel her by a wheel in the door they needed to get through, "Spin it clockwise, four turns."

"Ten," she nodded.

"No, four, _four_ turns."

"Yeah, four, I heard you."

"Ready!" the Doctor placed the sonic on a circuit.

"Yes," Angel nodded, the lights becoming more golden, brighter as she prepared for what was coming.

"On my count then," Octavian called, praying the girl could keep the lights on long enough because, in a moment, the only thing powering them would be her, "God be with us all. Three...two...one!"

The Doctor flicked the sonic and the lights flickered for only a second before Angel got them powered again. She gripped the wires tightly, pouring the energy into them, not wanting to give up, not wanting to let the angels force the lights off. It was like a battle of wills, four of them against her, but she was determined, she would _not_ let them harm anyone in that small space, she would not let them get another cleric, another young boy to use his last moments against them. She would fight as hard as she could and as long as she could to keep them all safe, even River Song.

And so, she didn't even see said Song, watching her with narrowed, jealous eyes as the Time Lady fought to keep them all safe, fought to give the Doctor more time...and succeeded. Damn the Vortex inside her. It wasn't fair that someone like Angel had all that power and barely ever used it, she found herself torn at times. Torn between wishing for that power, to be just as unique, as powerful, as capable of impressing the Doctor with feats using it as Angel seemed to be. She knew the Doctor must think Angel special to have such power and be uncorrupted by it. But, in the same breath, she was certain the girl would be terrifying, having all that power at her disposal, and that if she ever grew angry or displeased with something she could obliterate it, like _her_ , for all her remarks and comments and attitude towards her. But the Angel was her namesake, she wouldn't ever use the power to harm someone.

And that sickened her.

The girl was a saint, and the Doctor was a lonely God, the perfect pair. In a way she kept trying to bait the girl, the Doctor seemed to be convinced that Angel had all the control in the world over the Vortex, she knew it was a lie. Just once, just one tiny violent or cruel act from the girl, one lash out using the Vortex and that would be all the Doctor needed to see that Angel _could_ be corrupted by that power. She was sure of it. No one was that pure. That was all he needed to realize that Angel wasn't the perfect Time Lady she portrayed herself to be. That would be all he needed to see her for what she truly was. And that would be all he needed to turn away from the Time Lady for good. If she could just get the woman to show her true colors instead of hiding behind the protective, nearly maternal mask she wore.

There was no way, in her mind, that someone like Angel could genuinely exist.

"Turn!" the Doctor yelled to Amy, still sonicing the controls.

"Doctor, quickly!" River added, shaking herself out of her thoughts and going to help Amy. The sooner they got through the door, the sooner Angel could stop being the hero.

"It's opening, it's working!" Amy smiled as the door moved enough for her and River to slip through, River actually seeming to pull her on by the hand first.

"Fall back!" Octavian commanded.

The Clerics moved through the doorway, followed by Octavian. The Doctor looked over, seeing Angel still focused on keeping the lights going long enough for them to all make it through. He quickly ran to her side, ignoring River and Amy's shouts for him to hurry, and grabbed Angel's arm, pulling her through after him and slamming the door shut with the sonic just as the lights went out.

Immediately, he turned to her, seeing her panting, and lifted her head with both hands so she would look at him, checking her eyes quickly to see if she was alright, his hearts racing. He could see a strain on her face, the fine sheen of sweat on her brow, she was panting and shaking a little bit from the effort she'd used to keep them all safe, but nothing too bad.

"Are you ok?" he asked her, his hearts pounding away in his chest, feeling himself shaking as well as he eyed her, unable to look away really, not till he knew she was completely fine, until she reassured him she was ok.

He felt like he was panting too, like he couldn't breathe. When he'd turned around and saw her still there, within reach of the angels...his hearts stopped and he felt himself go numb. He'd _had_ to get her out of there! And even now, even with the door separating them, even with the time being of the essence, and the humans shouting at him from down the hall...he couldn't take a step away from her.

"Doctor!" River called as she struggled to get the next door open, the controls being locked as well.

"Angel?" he whispered instead, growing worried as she didn't say anything. Of its own accord his thumb began to stroke her cheek, his eyes searching hers as he took a step closer to her, not even realizing he was doing that, that his other hand had dropped down to her hand and taken it, that he was tugging her closer, that he was staring into her eyes.

Angel took a breath, "I'm fine," she nodded.

"Doctor!" River snapped.

The Doctor glanced over at her and back to Angel, taking just a small step back, as though realizing he'd gotten a bit too close to her, "You're sure?" he asked.

"Yeah," she reassured him, smiling just a bit at his concern, at least she was still a little important to him, "Cross my hearts," she crossed them.

"Good," he nodded as well, before looking at her once more and turning to dash down the hall, Angel following, to the other door, opening it with the sonic for the others to go through, ushering Angel through before him this time.

"Doctor, quickly!" River yelled from the other side.

"Doctor!" Angel shouted as well.

He ran through, joining them as the door shut behind him. He looked around, seeing they were on a flight deck in major disrepair with exposed wires all over the console before he ran over to the controls.

"Doctor!" Amy gasped as a hatch lock spun. Octavian placed a magnetic device on the door, stopping it, "What are you doing?"

"Magnetized the door," Octavian said, "Nothing could turn that wheel now."

"Yeah?" the Doctor nearly rolled his eyes as the wheel started to turn, slowly.

"Dear God!"

"Ah, now you're getting it! You've bought us time though, that's good. I am good with time."

"Doctor!" Amy pointed as another wheel spun.

"Seal that door!" Octavian called, "Seal it now!" a Cleric placed another device on that one as well.

"We're surrounded!" River said as a third door began to spin.

"Seal it, seal that door!" a second Cleric sealed the door too, "Doctor, how long have we got?"

"Five minutes," Angel answered for him.

"Maximum," he agreed.

"Nine," Amy seemed to correct, which made both Angel and the Doctor look at her sharply.

"Five."

"Five, right yeah."

"Why d'you say nine?"

"I didn't."

"We need another way out of here," River remarked, looking around.

"There isn't one," Octavian said.

"Yeah, there is, course there is," the Doctor cut in, "This is a galaxy class ship, goes for years between planet-falls. So…" he pointed at them with a snap of his fingers, "What do they need?"

"Of course!" River's eyes widened.

"Of course, what?" Amy shook her head, "What do they need?"

"Can we get in there?" Octavian frowned.

"Get in where?" Angel asked, feeling the familiar sense of...disappointment in herself at not knowing what they were talking about. This ship wasn't a TARDIS, she wasn't familiar with it, she didn't have a clue what it could be.

"Well, it's a sealed unit, but they must have installed it somehow," the Doctor replied, "This whole wall should slide up," he turned to the wall behind him and pressed on it, "There's clamps. Release the clamps!" he used the sonic on them.

"What's through there?" Amy looked at him, "What do they need?"

"They need to breathe," River stated as the door slowly rose to reveal a forest, lush with vegetation and trees.

"But that's...that's a..."

"It's an oxygen factory."

"It's a _forest_."

"Yeah, it's a forest, it's an oxygen factory."

"And, if we're lucky, an escape route," the Doctor nodded.

"Eight," Amy smiled.

"What did you say?" River looked at her, Angel frowning too, she would have thought she'd imagined it, that Amy had said 'great' if not for River having heard 'eight' as well.

"Nothing," she shook her head.

"Is there another exit?" the Doctor turned to Octavian, "Scan the architecture, we don't have time to get lost in there."

"I can..." Angel began to offer her assistance in leading them through, her feelings had often got them where they needed to go in the past.

But Octavian had already entered the forest with a, "On it, stay where you are until I've checked the Rad levels."

Angel sighed, she supposed it would probably be better to actually have a map. She'd said it often enough that she couldn't see everything. She would never forgive herself is she was wrong and they ended up trapped or coming face-to-face with a Weeping Angel because of her.

"But trees!" Amy shook her head, "On a spaceship?"

"Oh, more than trees, way better than trees," the Doctor laughed, "You're going to love this," he stepped into the forest, "Tree _borgs_..." and opened a section of peat moss to reveal circuitry, "Trees plus technology. Branches become cables, become sensors on the hull. A forest sucking in starlight, breathing out air. It even rains. There's a whole mini-climate. It is an eco-pod running through the heart of the ship. A forest in a bottle, on a spaceship, in a maze. Have I impressed you yet, Amy Pond?"

Amy nodded, "Seven."

"Seven?" Angel looked at her as the Doctor frowned, joining them back on the flight deck.

"Sorry, what?" Amy turned to her.

"You said seven," the Doctor moved closer, turning Amy's face to study it closely.

"No. I didn't," she leaned back.

"But you did," Angel told her softly, eyeing her as well.

"Doctor!" Octavian shouted, "There's an exit, far end of the ship, into the Primary Flight Deck."

"Good, that's where we need to go," the Doctor nodded.

"Plotting a safe path."

"Quick as you like!" he murmured, still examining Amy.

"Doctor?" Bob called over the comm., "Excuse me. Hello, Doctor? Angel Bob here, sir."

"Ah," the Doctor sat down on a chair, "There you are, Angel Bob. How's life?" he winced mockingly, "Sorry, bad subject."

"The angels are wondering what you hope to achieve."

"Achieve? We're not achieving anything. We're just hanging. It's nice in here, consoles, comfy chairs, a forest. How's things with you?"

Angel smiled a bit at that, thinking of the TARDIS, a ship that was slightly a mess in terms of things that needed fixing, nice to be in, with consoles, and jump seats that were very comfy. It didn't have a forest exactly, but it did have a garden, which she had been taking care of since the flowers began to grow. It was lovely.

"The angels are feasting, sir," Bob continued, "Soon we will be able to absorb enough power to consume this vessel, this world, and all the stars and worlds beyond."

"Well, we've got comfy chairs, did I mention?"

"We have no need of comfy chairs."

"I made him say comfy chairs!"

Amy chuckled, "Six."

The Doctor stood quickly, "Ok, well, enough chat. Here's what I want to know: what have you done to Amy?"

"There is something in her eye," Bob stated.

"What's in her eye?"

"We are."

"What's he talking about?" Amy shook her head, "Doctor, I'm five," she frowned when everyone turned to her and blinked, realizing she'd said five, "I mean, five. Fine! I'm _fine_."

"You're counting," Angel whispered, making her way over to Amy and putting an arm around her.

She may not have liked all her little jokes and teases about the Doctor and River being husband and wife, but she could tell Amy was starting to get scared now, she didn't want that. It was her fault too, in a way, if she'd just been quicker, seen that vision sooner, this wouldn't have happened and Amy would be ok. She swallowed, she didn't want to tell the Doctor what had happened to Amy, she had seen Amy in the forest when he discovered the angel in the girl's mind, she wanted to get Amy as far away from this flight deck as possible and safe before anything else.

"Counting?"

"You're counting down," the Doctor nodded, "From ten. You have been for a couple of minutes."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"Well, counting down to what?"

"I don't know."

"We shall take her," Bob said, "We shall take all of you. We shall have dominion over all time and space."

"Get a life, Bob," the Doctor called into the comm., sitting down again, "Oops, sorry again. There's power on this ship, but nowhere near that much."

"With respect, sir, there is more power on this ship than you yet understand."

River gasped when a horrible and rather loud screeching began over them, "Dear God, what _is_ it?"

"They're back!" Octavian called as they all looked around, trying to see where it was coming from...Angel, however, felt her gaze being pulled to the back of the room...

"It's hard to put in your terms, Dr. Song," Bob remarked, "But, as best I understand it, the angels are laughing."

"Laughing?" the Doctor asked him.

"Because you haven't noticed yet. The Doctor in the TARDIS hasn't noticed. But your own Angel certainly has," the Doctor stood and looked over at Angel to see her staring, wide eyed, at something behind him. He turned slowly to see a glowing crack high in the wall, very large, and very exactly shaped, just like the crack on the wall of Amy's bedroom.

"That's...that's like the crack from my bedroom wall from when I was a little girl," Amy breathed as the Doctor ran back to it to examine it.

"Yes," he breathed.

"Ok, enough, we're moving out!" Octavian frowned.

"Agreed," River nodded before turning around, "Doctor?"

"Yeah," he waved her off, using the sonic on the crack as Angel stepped to his side, looking at it with a slightly green look to her face, feeling even more ill due to the size of it all, distortions in time, cracks in time had always affected her, "Fine!"

"What are you doing?"

"Right with you."

"We're _not_ leaving without you!"

"Oh, yes you are. Bishop?"

"Miss Pond, Dr. Song, now!" Octavian ordered.

River grabbed Amy's arm and pulled her to the forest, knowing she and Amy would be dragged out by the men if it came to it.

"Doctor, come on! Angel!" Amy shouted.

"So, what are you?" the Doctor breathed, looking at the scan on the sonic, "Oh, that's bad. Ah, that's extremely very not good," he pressed his ear against the wall, listening.

"Doctor…" Angel whispered, a slight tremor in her voice.

He looked at her to see her looking at the deck with wide eyes, and with good reason, they were now surrounded by angels, "Do not blink," he ordered as he climbed over the console to get past them, Angel walking around it just as one grabbed him by his jacket collar and Angel by the back of her belt.

~8~

Octavian and the Clerics walked through the forest slowly, River and Amy safely in the middle of them when Amy began to slow, an almost sick look on her face.

"Amy?" River asked, walking over to her and grabbing her arm as she stumbled, "Amy, what's wrong?"

~8~

"Why are we not dead then?" the Doctor asked as he turned nervously to see the angels with their hands up at the crack, feeding off of it, "Good, and not so good. Oh, this isn't even a little bit good. I mean, is that it? Is that the power that brought you here?"

"It's time energy," Angel murmured, shifting as she subtly reached for the front clasp of her belt, very grateful the buckle was in front of her.

The Doctor glanced over, seeing what she was doing, and slowly started to wiggle out of his jacket, "You can't feed on that," he agreed, "That's the power, that's the fire at the end of the Universe. I'll tell you something else..." there was a loud rumbling, "Never let me talk!" he ran off into the forest, his jacket in the hands of the angels along with Angel's belt as she followed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We got a little more insight to River's thoughts on Angel here, not very nice is she :( 
> 
> But yay! Angel got to have a hand in saving everyone and we got a concerned-Doctor moment ^-^ I could see River being jealous that other humans and aliens can't handle the Vortex like Angel can, sort of like that will always be one thing that Angel has over her that makes her more unique and she hates that. Even if Angel doesn't always use it. I'm not sure if River's little almost-plan to bait Angel into attacking her with the Vortex is realistic, I tried to explain it as it would be a way to set the Doctor against the TL if he thought River was the innocent party. But then again...she was a psychopath for most of her life, she would probably be prepared to use desperate measures to ensure she gets what she wants :)


	15. Flesh and Stone: The Forest

Further into the forest, River ran to Amy's side as she stumbled against a rock, looking far too pale and dazed for anything good to be happening, "Amy, what's wrong?" she asked again, taking Amy's arm to help her sit on a rather large rock.

"Four," Amy mumbled, turning to curl up on the moss covered rock instead.

River frowned at that, seeing that Amy was very weak and the countdown was continuing, to what end, she didn't know, but she couldn't let anything happen to Amy for quite a number of reasons, "Med-scanner, now!" she shouted and one of the Clerics gave her one, stepping back as she quickly got to work scanning the girl, trying to see what was wrong with her and what she could do to help. She glanced over her shoulder, hoping that the Doctor would arrive soon, his sonic would probably be far more useful. The scanner could really only tell her what was physically wrong with Amy but there didn't appear to be anything except her heart rate going up a bit. The sonic would be able to tell her far more and, failing that, though she hated to admit it, Angel could probably take a guess at what was wrong, the psychic.

"Dr. Song, we can't stay here, we've got to keep moving," Octavian argued as he turned to her, gesturing his men to keep an eye on the perimeter.

"We wait for the Doctor," she stated, trying to run a deeper scan on Amy. She didn't even look away as she spoke, firmly believing that the men would listen to her, well, they would wouldn't they? They needed her help even now, especially now that the angels were out there and the Doctor was missing. They would need her expertise on alien matters to help them.

"Our mission is to make this wreckage safe and neutralize the angels. Until that is achieved..."

"Father Octavian," she cut in and looked at him, "When the Doctor is in the room, your _only_ mission is to keep him alive long enough to get everyone else home. And trust me. It's _not_ easy."

"What about Angel?" Amy whispered, looking at her, she could see it in River's eyes, hear it in her words, she held almost no love for the girl, focusing instead on the Doctor, which Amy didn't think was fair at all, but then again…she had to admit she couldn't truly talk. She had done a little of the same, focused on the Doctor, she'd done it nearly her whole life really. Oh she had dreamed of that man for so long, even more when she'd grown older, so much so that Angel really had become almost a side note in the grand scheme of things. And that wasn't fair, because Angel had been incredible from what she'd seen. She'd helped stop Zero, she had been the one to calm the Star Whale, she had stopped the bomb in Bracewell, and she had just saved two Clerics lives without them even realizing. Angel really was remarkable, and she did feel terrible about having pushed her to the back of her mind so often growing up.

But even then, she wasn't quite as short and dismissive of Angel as River seemed to be. She was at least polite, and...she'd tried to make Angel feel included and better despite how River acted around her during that adventure. She knew what it was like to be the Scottish girl in the English village, have people treat you weird and some just be mean out of spite, seeing River treating Angel the same way had reminded her of her childhood. She'd really only had Rory and her best friend Mels with her. She was ashamed of herself for having started off her friendship with Angel in the same way. If they made it out of this, she'd definitely try to get to know the woman better, know the Time Lady, instead of just lumping her into the Doctor's story as his friend.

She was a bit...worried though...that...what if she was wrong? What if the way River was treating Angel was completely justified? If something happened between the two women in the future, well in Angel's future and River's past, that made River this way...She shook her head, it didn't make sense in a few ways. Whatever Angel had done, she hadn't done yet and River shouldn't treat her badly for something she didn't know about. It was like...Angel, how River was treating her and yet Angel wasn't acting the same way in return. Clearly they knew River, clearly the future River they'd met had treated her in a similar fashion as this one, and yet Angel was treating her with courtesy and respect, despite a future River having been less than kind to her. Angel didn't hold it against this River it seemed. And...well...she really couldn't imagine Angel ever doing something so terrible that anyone would dislike her as much as River seemed to.

River tensed at the question but continued on, not answering, "Now, if he's dead back there, I'll never forgive myself, and if he's alive, I'll never forgive him. And, Doctor, you're standing right behind me, aren't you?"

"Oh, yeah," the Doctor said with a bit of a frown on his face as he picked up the same line of thought as Amy.

He and Angel had arrived at the top of a small hill only moments ago, Angel tripping a bit on the way up, him standing on a log, just about when River had started to speak about how their mission was to keep him alive. He didn't like that, and he really didn't appreciate how she hadn't answered Amy either. It bothered him, a lot, quite a lot really, to hear River blatantly ignore Amy's question and not answer. It was almost as if she were answering it without speaking, she wouldn't have to answer really because the answer was obvious in a way. He knew River didn't care for Angel, but to hear her admit (or imply) that she didn't consider Angel worth being protected as well...angered him.

Angel was sweet and kind and genuine, she'd done nothing but try to be understanding of River and polite and helpful despite how the woman had treated her in the Library. Yet here River was, unable to extend the same courtesy. His jaw tensed as he looked down at her, unnoticing of his hand clenching into a fist at his side as his eyes narrowed of their own accord. He didn't like it, he didn't like her attitude towards Angel and something inside him raged against it. It...worried him, to be honest, how powerful that emotion was, how angry he was getting over the fact that someone just didn't like Angel.

It was natural, no one could be completely loved by everyone, though he would have sworn Angel was the exception to that rule. And River was from the future, who was he to say that Angel hadn't done something to warrant River's anger, though he couldn't really imagine that ever happening. But still, they were in a the middle of a dire situation and River was acting like a child. Which, he supposed, made sense since she was younger than she was in the Library, but still, he couldn't help the feeling rising in him that wanted to march down there and get right in River's face, look her in the eyes as he told her to stay away from Angel and leave her alone or deal with him, the Oncoming Storm...

He blinked, letting out a breath, his hand unclenching as his eyes widened, feeling...alarmed. Very alarmed. That...that wasn't him, he didn't act like that, he didn't go threatening people just because they were a little rude to others. He swallowed, trying to push down the rising feelings of protectiveness, feelings that were almost as though they wanted him to jump to her defense, protect her from River, take her in his arms and just hold her, soothe her and tell her it would be ok. But why? They'd dealt with plenty of rude people in the past, and...Angel had never seemed bothered by it, more amused by them really. She'd been rather amused by his last self. The point still stood though, River, even for her treatment of Angel, hadn't done anything truly dire to warrant him threatening her like that. That was a bit extreme an action just because she was a little rude, if anyone had that reaction to the last him he'd probably be dead.

"I hate you!" River turned to him, sending him an almost playful glare, not seeming to notice his momentary anger directed at her.

"You don't," he waved her off as he and Angel jumped down and walked over, whatever his thoughts on River at the moment, it didn't matter because there was something clearly the matter with Amy, "Bishop, the angels are in the forest," he crouched beside Amy's head while Angel knelt by her side opposite River, resting a hand on the girl's arm in comfort.

"We need visual contact on every line of approach," Octavian ordered his men.

"How did you get past them?" River looked at the Doctor, sure that Angel had no hand in it, the girl wasn't that clever as to be able to trick a ship full of angels.

"Found a crack in the wall and told them it was the end of the Universe," he murmured, sonicing Amy.

"What was it?" Amy blinked.

"The end of the Universe. Let's have a look then," he checked the med-scanner as well, flashing it with the sonic to see what else it might have picked up.

"So. what's wrong with me?"

"Nothing," River said, "You're fine."

"Everything, you're dying," the Doctor shook his head

Angel winced at that, it was her fault, it was all her fault, she'd been too late. But...there was also nothing she could do to stop it. If she had told the Doctor earlier, he'd focus on Amy (which is perfectly natural), but the other humans would suffer and be in danger, and...she could feel it, there was no way to get the angel out of Amy's mind, it was stuck there, it wasn't like he could magically go in and pull it out or force it out. Not with the technology available to them. The TARDIS might be able to help, but she was sitting on the beach, waiting for them. There was always the Vortex but she did NOT trust herself enough in using it on a human's mind to fight against a sentient being within it that was as strong as an angel was.

"Doctor!" River shot him a look.

"Yes, you're right," he rolled his eyes, "If we lie to her, she'll get all better! Right. Amy! Amy. What's the matter with Amelia? Something's in her eye. What does that mean? Doesn't mean anything."

"Doctor…" Amy called.

"Busy."

"Scared!"

"Course, you're dying, shut up!"

"Ok, let him think," River whispered to her.

The Doctor got up, "What happened? She stared at the angel, she looked into the eyes of an angel for too long..."

"Sir!" a Cleric warned, "Angels, incoming!" he directed his light on an angel watching from the trees.

"And here," another agreed.

"Keep visual contact, do _not_ let it move!" Octavian commanded.

The Doctor started pacing, slapping the sides of his head, "Come on, come on, wakey, wakey! She watched an angel climb out of the screen. She _stared_ at the angel and…and..."

"'The image of an angel is an angel,'" Amy recited.

"A living image in a human mind. We stare at them to stop them getting closer, we don't even blink and that's exactly what they want, 'cos as long as our eyes are open, they can climb inside. There's an angel in her mind!"

"Three," she blinked back tears, hearing the scanner start to beep frantically as her vitals reached dangerous levels, "Doctor, what's happening to me?"

"Inside your head, in the vision centers of your brain, there's an angel," he sat down, "It's like there's a screen, a virtual screen inside your mind, and the angel is climbing out of it."

"Doctor, it's coming. I can feel it. I'm going to die!"

"It's not coming," Angel told her, reaching out to take her hand, squeezing it reassuringly, "It wants you to be scared Amy. It wants you not to fight because you're afraid. But you've _got_ to fight it."

"How?" she whimpered.

"Close your eyes."

"No, no," she shook her head, "I don't want to."

"You do," Angel murmured, reaching out with her other hand to stroke Amy's hair, "The angel in your head doesn't, because _it's_ afraid. Do it Amy. Close your eyes."

Amy hesitated.

"Trust me," Angel whispered, squeezing her hand in reassurance, giving her a nod as River and the Doctor watched.

Amy swallowed and closed her eyes, the scanner beeping, returning the readings to green, "She's normalizing," River breathed a sigh of relief.

"Brilliant!" the Doctor cheered, reaching over and hugging Angel tightly with one arm, a hug that seemed to last a moment longer than it should have, before jumping up.

Angel sighed and looked back down at Amy. She supposed it was good, in a way, the vision she'd had. Even if she'd been too late to stop it, she had at least known what was coming. She'd had ample time to work out what to do to help Amy. Oh she was sure the Doctor would have worked it out in seconds, the closing the eyes thing, but she wasn't the Doctor. She wasn't clever or brilliant or quick, but she was determined. Given enough time she could work things out for herself and that was just what she needed, time. She was really quite good with time, even better than the Doctor when it came to it. She hadn't stopped thinking about the vision, about what was in Amy's mind from the moment she realized something had happened, and she'd tried to work out how to help her. And she'd done it.

She smiled a bit at that, stroking Amy's hair once more, "You'll be ok Amy."

"Sir?" a Cleric yelled, "Two more incoming."

"Three more over here," another added.

"Still weak, dangerous to move her," River packed away the scanner.

"So, can I open my eyes now?" Amy wondered as Angel helped her sit up on the rock.

"Amy, listen to me," the Doctor crouched down before her, "If you open your eyes now for more than a second, you will die. The angel is still inside you. We haven't stopped it, Angel's just sort of paused it, rather brilliantly," he smiled at Angel a moment, or two, before shaking his head and looking back at Amy, not seeing River's eyes narrow at the gesture, "You've used up your countdown. You _cannot_ open your eyes."

"Doctor, we're too exposed here," Octavian warned, "We have to move on."

He stood, "We're exposed everywhere, and Amy can't move, and anyway, that's not the plan."

"There's a plan?" River scoffed as she moved to sit next to Amy and comfort her...only to see Angel had already done so. The Time Lady was sitting beside Amy, her arm around the girl's shoulders, rubbing her one arm.

"I don't know yet, I haven't finished talking. Right! Father, you and your Clerics will stay here, look after Amy..."

"I'll stay with Amy as well," Angel told him.

The Doctor seemed to pause at that, looking as though he was about to argue.

"I'll be able to see the angels coming," Angel continued, "I can try to use the Vortex to distract them if anything happens."

The Doctor still seemed hesitant, actually shifting at the thought of staying (being alone) in a forest (a dark one) with the angels out there (really rather deadly angels) without him there to help (protect her).

"Doctor we don't have time to argue," River cut in, "You and I should go to the Primary Flight Deck."

Amy frowned, hearing...something, in River's voice. It was odd how much sharper your senses were when one was cut off. At first it sounded like River was genuinely determined to help find a way out, not wanting to waste time with the angels out there. But she could hear another quality in the woman's voice. She was eager to go, probably to go out there with the Doctor and without Angel.

The Doctor sighed but nodded, "The deck is..." he licked his finger, holding it up as Angel shook her head.

"A quarter mile," she cut in, nodding behind him, "That way."

The Doctor blinked.

Octavian nodded, "She's right sir," he looked at his scanner.

"Right," the Doctor agreed, he should have known Angel would guess that, "River and I'll stabilize the wreckage, stop the angels, and cure Amy."

"How?" River asked.

"I'll do a thing."

"What thing?"

"I don't know, it's a thing in progress. Respect the thing. Moving out!"

"Doctor, I'm coming with you," Octavian called, "My Clerics can look after Miss Pond and Angel. These are my best men, they'd lay down their lives in their protection."

"I don't need you," he stated, something inside him wanting as many men as possible to be there for the girls, to protect them, to keep Angel safe.

"I don't care. Where Dr. Song goes, I go."

"What?" he looked between River and Octavian, "You two engaged or something?"

"Yes, in a manner of speaking. Marco, you're in charge till I get back," and then he started off with River.

"Sir!" Marco saluted.

"Doctor...please, can't I come with you?" Amy asked.

"You'd slow us down, Miss Pond," Octavian replied from where he was waiting with River at the edge of the small clearing.

"I don't want to sound selfish, but you'd really speed me up."

"You'll be safer here with me," Angel told her, "They can't protect you on the move."

The Doctor nodded even though Amy couldn't see it, "I'll be back for you soon as I can. I promise."

"You always say that," Amy remarked.

"I always come back. Good luck everyone. Behave. Do _not_ let that girl open her eyes. And keep watching the forest. Stop those angels advancing. And if anything," he turned to Marco, " _Anything_ ," and stepped closer to the man till he was nearly nose-to-nose with him, "Happens to her, I will hold each of you personally responsible, twice," he gave the man a hard look, watching as Marco actually seemed to swallow in fear, before he smiled and nodded, glancing at Angel a few seconds, his smile softening from pleased that Marco would take it seriously to happy to know she'd be protected. He gave her a nod which made her blink and frown as she realized he'd been talking about HER to Marco and not...not Amy.

Angel glanced past him, to River, to see the woman's eyes were narrowed at her, clearly she had noticed as well and was none too pleased with the Doctor's little threat, or at least who it was meant to protect.

"Amy, later!" he tapped Amy on the head, all smiles again, as though he hadn't even realized he'd made such a threat to a human, "Angel," he added, before he turned to River, "River, going to need your computer."

"Yeah," Amy muttered, hearing him walk off, "Later."

"It'll be alright Amy," Angel whispered, squeezing her a bit as Amy fidgeted nervously with her hands as they sat there. She looked up, about to speak...when she saw the Doctor step out of the bushes. But she knew, she instinctively knew, it wasn't this Doctor, it wasn't the Doctor who had just stepped out into the woods. He was wearing a coat again. He looked at her and made a 'shh' motion with his finger on his lips as he walked over and put his hands on Amy's, stilling her.

"Amy," he said, "You need to start trusting me, it's never been more important."

"But you don't always tell me the truth," Amy countered.

"If I always told you the truth, I wouldn't need you to trust me."

Angel closed her eyes, trust. It was tricky and rather hard to keep trusting someone who just kept hurting you and didn't even realize it. But she had to, she had to try, she had to keep it going and keep it together.

"Doctor, the crack in my wall, how can it be here?"

"I don't know yet, but I'm working it out. Now, listen. Remember what I told you when you were seven?"

"What did you tell me?"

"No, no..." he rested his forehead against hers, "That's not the point. You have to remember," he squeezed her hands once more before leaving.

"Remember what? Doctor? Doctor?"

Angel just watched him go, with not even a look back at her, not even a word to her of reassurance about the future. Nothing. She sighed and closed her eyes again, it hurt when your Mate, the one person who could provide you any comfort, didn't give you any at all. Not even a smile.

And she had to wonder, how far into the future was that Doctor? That he _still_ hadn't remembered her? The way he looked at her just then, like he was looking through her, the way he'd focused on Amy...she knew he hadn't remembered her. How long would it be before he did? It had been _months_ already and just...nothing. How much longer would it take beyond that? A few more months? Years? Centuries?

Her hearts stopped as one chilling thought entered her.

Would he ever?

~8~

Octavian led River and the Doctor through the forest, the Doctor grumbling quietly about how slow they seemed to be moving with Octavian leading with his scanner. Angel would have led them right to the ship, at a run, while avoiding all angels in their way. He stopped suddenly though when there was a beep on the scanner in his hand. He held it up, looking at it intently.

"What's that?" River glanced at him.

"Readings from a crack in a wall," he murmured.

"How can a crack in the wall be the end of the Universe?"

"Here's what I think. One day there'll be a very big bang, so big every moment in history, past and future, will crack."

"Is that possible? How?"

"How can you be engaged in a manner of speaking?" he asked, something about that term, engagement, marriage, wives, bothering him.

"Well...sucker for a man in uniform," she smiled, giving him a look, pleased he seemed interested in her marital status.

Octavian stalked over, the complete opposite of pleased, "Dr. Song is in my personal custody. I released her from the Stormcage Containment Facility four days ago and I am legally responsible for her until she has accomplished her mission and earned her pardon. Just so we understand each other."

"You were in Stormcage?" the Doctor looked at her, a bit unsettled with that information, when the device beeped again, pulling his attention down, Angel would have warned him about the beep, probably even guessed the date now blinking up at him too.

"What?" River looked at it, "What is that?"

"The date! The date of the explosion where the crack begins."

"And for those of us who can't read the base code of the Universe?"

The Doctor's eyes widened, seeing 26/06/2010 on the bottom, "Amy's time!"

~8~

Amy was sitting with her head resting on Angel's shoulder, "So…" she began, if just for something to talk about in the silence, "Who's this River person anyway?"

"I have...no idea," Angel sighed.

"Why do you even put up with her? I mean, she's not exactly the nicest person, at least when it comes to you, no offense."

"The last time we saw her, she…she apologized to me for everything that she did to me...um, was going to do me, would do to me in the future," she rubbed her head, "Tenses," she muttered, "My future, her past. I don't know what she's done or will do or even why she's so cross with me. But…she seemed _truly_ _sorry_ for whatever it was in the end."

"You are far too nice a person," Amy laughed, nudging her a bit.

"I suppose," Angel shrugged.

They sat in silence for a few more minutes before Amy spoke again, "So, what's happening? Anything happening out there?"

"The angels are still grouping," Marco responded when the lights of their torches and the area around them began to flicker, "Are you getting this too?"

"The trees?" a Cleric called, "Yeah."

"What's wrong with the trees?" Amy frowned.

"Here too, sir," another called.

"They're ripping the Treeborgs apart," Christian agreed.

"And here," one more added.

"They're taking out the lights," Angelo shouted.

"What is it?" Amy tensed, "What's happening? Tell me. I can't see."

"It's the trees," Angel told her quietly, "The angels are trying to turn the trees off."

~8~

The Doctor took the readings from the scanner and stood, looking at them outside the primary flight deck as Octavian tried to find a way back in and River kept guard, "It doesn't open it from here, but it's the Primary Flight Deck," Octavian reported, "This has got to be a service hatch or something."

"Hurry up and open it, time's running out," River remarked.

"What?" the Doctor looked at her, startled, that was like something Angel would say, "What did you say? Time's running out, is that what you said?"

"Yeah. I just meant..."

"I know what you meant. Hush! But what if it could?"

"What if what could?"

"Time. What if time could run out?"

River stared at him, uncomprehending.

He sighed and turned around, "Where's Angel when you need her," he mumbled, not seeing River shoot him a glare for that as his back turned.

"Got it!" Octavian cheered.

~8~

"The angels are advancing, sir," Christian warned.

"Over here, again," Angelo reported.

"Weapons primed," Marco took charge, "Combat distance five feet. Wait for it!"

Amy stood up, "What is it? What's happening, just tell me!"

"The angels are close," Angel told her, standing up as well and taking the girl's hand, able to see the statues peeking out of the trees.

"Keep your position and, ma'am, keep your eyes shut!" Marco ordered, "Wait!" he squinted as a bright light appeared and began to spread in the distance, "The ship's not on fire. Is it?"

"It can't be," a second Cleric turned to look, "The compressors would have taken care of it," he turned back, startled to not see something, "Marco, the angels have gone. Where'd they go?"

"What, the angels?" Amy asked.

"This side's clear too, sir," another Cleric reported, the rest making similar reports.

"The angels have gone?" Amy turned to Angel.

"There's still movement out there, but away from us now," Marco replied, "It's like they're running."

"Running from what?"

"Phillip, Crispin, need to get a closer look at that."

"No!" Angel shouted as the second and third Cleric turned to him, her voice carrying such force that the two men stopped, "Don't you _dare_ go!"

"Ma'am…"

" _No_. That is a crack in the Universe. And…it's bleeding Time Energy, you get close to it, you will fall out of the Universe, you will cease to exist."

"Ma'am we need to…"

"I told Octavian not to let Christian and Angelo alone and that _saved their lives_. I told him to not let Bob alone, he didn't listen, and Bob's dead now. So, you are _going_ to listen to me and that is final. _No one_ goes near that crack, understood?"

The men looked at each other before turning to Marco, who eyed the woman closely, before nodding. She _had_ been right both times, he was not about to risk the lives of his men now, not when they didn't know if the angels would come back.

~8~

"Cracks in time, time running out..." the Doctor murmured, "No, couldn't be. But Angel was right, how is a duck pond a duck pond if there aren't any ducks? And she didn't recognize the Daleks! Ok, time can shift. Time can change. Time can be rewritten. Ah! Oh!" his eyes widened.

~8~

"It's like, I don't know..." Marco tried to explain the light to Amy, "A curtain of energy, sort of shifting."

"Makes you feel weird," Angel added, "Sick really," she shifted, feeling squeamish already.

"And you think it scared the angels?" Amy frowned.

"What could scare those things?" the last Cleric remarked.

Amy turned nervously towards the light.

"What are you doing?" Marco asked.

"Point me at the light," she said.

"You can't open your eyes."

"Not for more than a second, that's what the Doctor said. Still got a bit of countdown left."

"Ma'am, you can't."

"Amy…" Angel began, shaking her head.

"I need to see it," Amy squeezed Angel's hand, she needed to know if it really was the same crack, "Am I looking the right way? I have to be quick."

Marco sighed and turned her the right way, "Very quick!"

"Ok," she opened her eyes and gasped, gripping Angel's hand tightly, "It's the same shape! It's the crack in my wall."

"Close your eyes!" Marco covered her eyes, "Now!"

"It's following me! How can it be following me?" she fell to her knees in shock as Angel fell with her, supporting her as Marco held her eyes closed.

"Amy are you ok?" Angel whispered, rubbing her back.

"Yeah," she nodded as Marco took his hand away, her eyes closed again, before she gripped Angel's hand and turned in her direction, "It was the same shape!"

"I know," Angel breathed.

"Marco, you want me to get a closer look at that?" the last Cleric asked.

"What did I _say_ about that!?" Angel snapped, feeling a flash of fear race through her at the mention of another person getting close to it. Amy actually flinched at the sudden change in Angel's demeanor, her going from soothing and comforting to snapping at the Clerics.

The actual anger in her voice shocked them all.

"But it's not as though she could actually stop us," the man continued to argue before walking towards the light…only to run into golden wall that flared to life in front of him, "What the…"

"I can't stop you, can I?" Angel narrowed her eyes at him.

The men looked at her, shocked, before stepping back from the wall.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seems Angel's getting a wee bit ticked at everyone not listening to her or taking her as seriously as the Doctor lol :) But I'm happy SHE was the one to work out how to save Amy. I think she would have been able to work it out with a little time and she managed it :) I'm really excited for the next chapter because we find out more about River and the future, we'll see Angel taking a little bit of charge, more fearful-Doctor, another memory-flash, another Angel-theory, AND! A line that might give you hope for the Doctor in the future! :) 
> 
> ...and then crush it moments later :(
> 
> So sad, it seems the Doctor hasn't remembered Angel by the events of the Big Bang :( Poor Angel though, that must be hard to see a future Doctor and have him still not remember her, even if that future isn't all that far away. But still, SO much happening in the next chapter :)


	16. Flesh and Stone: Primary Flight Deck

Octavian moved the hatch away from the outer wall of the primary flight deck, holding it open for them to get in, "Dr. Song, get through, now," he urged, grabbing River's arm and pulling her over, helping her through the hatch, "Doctor?" he looked over, but the man in question was just standing there, looking completely bewildered and shocked, "Doctor?"

"Time can be _unwritten_ …" the Doctor murmured, starting to frown, something about that striking him, hitting too close to home for him to feel comfortable.

~8~

"So let's see," Angel began, far calmer now than she had been only moments ago, looking around at the men gathered near her and Amy, "Crispin, Phillip, Pedro, Marco, Angelo, and Christian right?" she eyed each of them as she tried to get their names correct.

The men were staring at her though, a bit startled by her sudden change in demeanor. She had gone from seeming almost an inch away from ripping their heads off with that golden wall thing...though probably not quite that bad as she was really rather nice...to wanting to get to know their names in mere moments.

"That's right ma'am," Marco nodded, just slightly more cautious around her now.

She'd been perfectly calm earlier, despite the angels surrounding them, comforting that Amy girl, but the _second_ they tried to investigate the light she was literally forcing them back away from it with an almost supernatural power and shouting at them. Now though, he could understand why, she had claimed the crack could erase them from time, they would never have been born, they had been too curious for their own good and she was just trying to protect them. He supposed they really had to thank her for that instead of being wary around her.

"Nice to meet you," she beamed at them.

Amy laughed a bit, just knowing Angel was grinning without needing to open her eyes. She could almost feel the tension and confusion from the men though at Angel's words. She had learned fairly quickly herself that Angel had mood swings from time to time, almost as bad as the Doctor, going from calm to angry or timid to controlling. She'd only needed one portion of an adventure alone with Angel to realize that. The girl wasn't usually like that when the Doctor was around, no, Angel seemed to be almost...quiet and solemn when the Doctor was around, but alone, when it was up to _her_ to protect someone, Angel was determined to do it and a little unpredictable...which was ironic since she was a psychic.

"Oh Marco," Angel added, almost like an after thought, "Can I have your comm. for a moment please?" he nodded, handing it over, "Thank you."

~8~

"It's been happening and I haven't even noticed!" the Doctor breathed, smacking himself on the forehead, wondering if it was possible that Angel had noticed? Had she? He tried to think back to anything she might have said during past adventures but he was coming up with nothing...

"Doctor, we've have to move," Octavian began, trying to usher him over to the hatch.

"The CyberKing! A giant Cyberman walks over all of Victorian London and no one remembers."

"We have to move it!" the Octavian ran over, grabbing his arm, "The angels could be here any second!"

"Never mind the angels," the Doctor yanked his arm away, "There's worse here than ang..."

"Doctor!" Angel's voice cut through on the comm. affixed to Octavian, "Stop rambling, you need to get in the ship, now!"

The Doctor nearly jumped out of his skin at her sudden shout, not having expected it, but looked out into the woods, catching the briefest glimpse of stone before turning and ushering Octavian into the crawl space that led to the ship this time instead. Angel rarely ever gave orders like _that_ , and when she did, he knew that he should _listen_ to her.

He paused a moment, halfway into the hatch, at that thought, Angel giving orders...

~oOo~

_"Doctor!" Sarah Jane's voice called out from the second floor, "Angel!"_

_He looked up, "Oh…" he slowly stood, "She's upstairs…come on!" he turned to Luke when…_

_"Luke, K9, keep an eye out for the TARDIS," Angel told them, "If you see her popping up give us a shout."_

_"Orders accepted Mistress," K9 nodded._

_"Oh, taking charge are we?" he looked at her, positively beaming, feeling a slight shiver race down his spine at that, at Angel taking command, he really, really liked that, in fact, he really did..."Love it."_

~oOo~

He shook his head of the odd...fuzz...that had swarmed in it a moment, needing to focus on the situation, and hurried in after Octavian.

~8~

Amy laughed at Angel's command as she tossed the comm. back to Marco, just imagining the Doctor jumping a mile into the air at the sudden shout.

~8~

Octavian reached out and stopped the Doctor before he could continue crawling into the ship. He glanced at the door the Doctor had soniced closed and back to the ship they could see at the end of the tunnel, River Song already through and rushing about, trying to fix things.

"Doctor…" he began, speaking quietly so that River wouldn't hear them.

He knew he shouldn't say this, he and River had a deal, she would help in exchange for no future knowledge being shared with the Doctor or Angel, but...that girl, he _knew_ it, could _feel_ it in his bones, she'd just saved his life. She had told them to get into the ship, and he'd seen the angels peeking from behind the trees, he wasn't stupid, he could work out what would have happened. That angel would have gotten him, likely killed him, if not for Angel's warning. If not for that girl, he'd be dead, he was not going to leave that debt unpaid, anything he could do to help her, to warn her and the Doctor of what was coming without breaking his vow, he'd do. He just had to be subtle and hope the Doctor would pick up on his warning.

"Listen to me. I have something important that needs to be said."

"Not really the best ti…" the Doctor tried to continue on.

But Octavian yanked him back, firm, "You _can't_ trust her."

"Trust who?" the Doctor's eyes narrowed, his mind immediately going to Angel, immediately making him defensive against Octavian. HE knew Angel better than anyone, and he would _not_ be told not to trust her! Angel was the most trustworthy woman in the Universe, the things she'd done for him, lived through, fought for, she was incredible and genuine and beautiful and he would not have some man who hadn't even seemed to have heard of her telling him Angel wasn't to be trusted when the man didn't know her and if he thought he knew her better than _him_ he'd...

"River Song," Octavian elaborated, making the Doctor blink and stare at him a moment, looking slightly embarrassed, "You think you know her, but you _don't_. You don't understand who or what she is."

"Then tell me," he said.

He could tell there was something...more about River Song. She was a mystery, he loved mysteries and puzzles, she was challenging and interesting, but she was unknown as well. There was something in him curious about her, but equally (though a bit more) wary of her as well. Like...something was trying to warn him away from her, something deep that didn't want him to get any closer to the woman, sadly he'd never been good at listening to that voice in his head that told him not to do things. But he could tell Octavian was cautious of the woman as well, and he knew HER at least, so, for now, he'd listen.

"I've told you more than I should," he muttered before turning to crawl in.

The Doctor pulled him back this time, "Just tell me...why she was in Stormcage?"

He looked at the Doctor a long while, solemn, before sighing, "She killed someone, someone very special, a hero to many they said."

"Who?" he frowned, stiffening at the look the man was giving him. He could already guess who it was.

"You _don't_ want to know, sir. You _really_ don't."

"Who did she kill?"

Octavian just turned and crawled out into the ship, they'd been too long, River would start to get suspicious soon if she didn't see them.

The Doctor watched him go, a pit in his stomach, it was him wasn't it? He shook his head, he couldn't be sure, he couldn't abandon River now when she would need help getting the others there, he couldn't avoid her if he didn't know exactly what for. He wasn't THAT rude. He followed after Octavian, standing up inside the ship to see River standing by the controls.

"There's a teleport!" River called, working away, "If I can get it to work, we can beam the others here."

"That teleport's dead," the Doctor told her, "I don't need to be Angel to tell that you're wasting your time. I'm going to need your communicator."

River shot him a sour look but tossed her scanner/comm. to him anyway.

~8~

Amy nearly fell off the rock when she jumped as the comm. crackled to life and the Doctor's voice called out, "Hello! Doctor to Clerics, you there?"

"Doctor?" Marco answered, pulling out the comm..

"Where are you? Are you still in the clearing?"

"Yes sir. We're here. The angels have fled though, we don't know if they're going to return or not. There's a light, Angel said it was a crack, and they fled. "

"Doctor," Angel stood slowly and took the comm., "The crack…I know why it's making me feel sick. It's bleeding Time Energy."

"Are you certain?" the Doctor asked, serious.

"Yes."

"What is that light?" they heard River ask.

"Time running out," he replied to her before getting back to them, "I'm sorry. I should never have left you all there."

"What are our orders sir?" Marco took the comm. back.

"You come to us. Primary Flight Deck, other end of the forest," there was a sound of the sonic in the background, "I've sent you the path, just follow it, quick as you can. You have to start moving now though. If there's Time Energy spilling out of that crack, you _have_ to stay ahead of it."

"What if the angels come back?"

"I'm sorry, I really am, but the angels can only kill you."

"What, exactly, does the Time Energy do?" Marco asked as Angel helped Amy to her feet, Crispin coming to help steady her on the other side as they started moving.

"Just what I told you," Angel cut in, "If the Time Energy touches you for even a moment, you're lost. It will consume you and eat away at your entire life, you'll never have been born."

"She's right," the Doctor agreed, and they could hear a strain in his voice, like that knowledge was alarming him, "It will erase every moment of your existence. You will never have lived at all. Now, tell Amy to keep her eyes shut and keep moving!"

~8~

"It's _never_ going to work," River remarked dryly as she twisted a few wires together.

"What else have you got?!" the Doctor shouted, angry and terrified for some reason he didn't understand.

It wasn't just that he was worried for his friends and the men protecting them, it went so much deeper, so deep that…he was actually _scared_ by the intensity of it. If he thought it was bad trying to get through the ship with the angels behind him, it was nothing compared to right now. His hearts were beating so loudly he could hear them in his head, feel them against his ribs, his whole body felt numb, with tiny prickles all over him, his mouth was dry, his hands were in fists, his mind was both racing in fear and yet sluggish in how to help. He felt like he couldn't breathe as his chest constricted painfully. All because of who was trapped in the forest with the angels. He shot a glare at River, who was really being quite useless in getting Angel and the others back to him safely.

"River, tell me!"

There was a loud bang and whoosh that drew their attention up.

"What's that?" Octavian frowned.

"The angels running from the fire. They came here to feed on the Time Energy. Now it's going to feed on them."

~8~

"Clerics listen to me," the Doctor's voice came back over the comm. as they walked through the woods, cautious, Marco glancing at Angel as she semi-led the way without a scanner, keeping track to make sure they were following the right path as they went, "I'm sending a bit of software to your communicator. It's a proximity detector. It'll beep if the angels are around, even if they're hiding, in case Angel misses anything. I'm sorry, but the forest is full of angels, they're heading back towards the ship so just keep moving."

~8~

"That Time Energy, what's it going to do?" River wondered.

"Did you not hear what Angel said?" he scoffed, "It will erase you from time."

River rolled her eyes, "Yes, I got that thanks," she said slowly with a huff, "But how? The crack in the ship wasn't large enough to be seen from the forest."

"That's because it'll keep eating," he muttered, focusing on the wires and controls before him, needing something to help get the others safe.

"How do we stop it?"

"Feed it."

"Feed it what?"

"A big complicated space-time event should shut it up for a while."

"Like what, for instance?"

"Like _me_ , for instance!" he snapped, growing frustrated with her _constant_ questions that were in _no way_ helping him think or calm down or get whatever he was trying to make fixed faster! Angel was in danger, and Amy and the other humans, and she was just...questioning him at every turn when he wanted them back! He wanted them beside him, he wanted them safe, he wanted her safe from the Time Energy, he wanted to get them away from the angels!

He shot one final look at River and turned back to his project, whatever it was.

~8~

There was a high-pitched beeping on the comm. that made the forest group all pause and look at it, concerned, "Sir?" Marco called.

"It's the warning," the Doctor replied, "The angels are close," the Clerics looked up, spotting hints of stone peeking out of the trees, a few angels staring at them, "The angels are scared and running and right now they're not that interested in you. You just have to hurry, keep them in sight, but _hurry_."

The Clerics readied their guns, walking as quickly as they could through the forest, Amy between Angel and Pedro now, till they reached a section that was almost entirely dark, no light, just a stretch of blackness, "Doctor," Marco called, "We can't go on. There's no light at all, we can't see for how far for and our torches won't help…"

"I can try to make some light," Angel offered, but she bit her lip as she did so, unsure if it would work. She had been able to do it in the ship, but she'd had wires there, she'd been able to concentrate, she wasn't sure if she'd manage it while walking.

"We can't risk going in it," Marco shook his head, seeming to sense the same thing, it would be deadly if they made it in halfway and then she failed to keep the light going.

"Marco!" Angel gasped suddenly when she looked at him, pointing behind them where the angels had come out of the trees, now surrounding them.

"Doctor! We're surrounded!" he shouted, the angels closing in each time they spun around to try and keep them in sight, all of them being forced closer together...

And suddenly...

They disappeared in a bright white light, only to fall to the ground in a heap of the primary flight deck floor.

"Don't open your eyes," River warned, pulling Amy from Angel's hold, checking on her, "You're on the Flight Deck, the Doctor's here. _I_ teleported you," she glanced back at the Doctor with a smirk, "See? Told you I could get it working."

"River Song, I could bloody _kiss_ you," the Doctor beamed, feeling _so_ relieved that the others were back, that all the Clerics were alive and Amy was well and Angel was ok.

River glanced at Angel, seeing her wince and look away sharply out of the corner of her eye, and smirked, winking at the Doctor, "Maybe when you're older."

"What's that?" Amy asked as an alarm went off.

"The angels are draining the last of the ship's power, which means...the shield's going to release!" the Doctor stated as the shield to the forest opened. The Clerics rushed into a line, preparing their guns at the army of angels before them.

"Positions!" Octavian ordered and the men fell to a knee, aiming at the statues, keeping them in sight.

The Doctor stepped up, "Angel Bob, I presume."

One of the angels holding a comm. spoke, "The time field is coming. It will destroy our reality."

"Yeah, and look at you, all running away. What can I do for you?"

"There is a rupture in time. The angels calculate that if you throw yourself into it, it will close and they will be saved."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Could do, could do that. But why?"

"Your friends would also be saved."

"Well, there _is_ that."

River stepped over to him, seeing Angel about to open her mouth, no doubt to offer herself instead and, while she would love nothing more than to let Angel throw herself into the crack (especially since the Vortex would make her even more of a complicated event), she was NOT about to let the girl make herself seem so selfless first. She knew the Doctor would say no, not even because his personality wouldn't let others sacrifice themselves for him but because, despite what she was about to say, she knew she couldn't compare to the complexities of either the Doctor or Angel. So there was no harm in making this offer, it wouldn't be taken up anyway, and it would make her seem a little more perfect...well, that and she really didn't want the Doctor to throw himself into a crack, "I've travelled in time. I'm a complicated space/time event too. Throw me in."

"Oh, be serious!" he scoffed, "Compared to me, these angels are more complicated than you and it would take every one of them to amount to me, so get a grip."

"Doctor, I can't let you do this."

"No, seriously, get a grip."

"You're not going to die here!"

"No, I mean it. River, Amy, Angel, Clerics, get a grip!" he put his hand on a railing on the side of the controls.

"Oh, you genius!" River breathed, beaming at him, before running over to Amy, only to see Angel already helping the girl grab onto something so she turned and quietly told the Clerics the plan as well.

"Sir, the angels need you to sacrifice yourself now," Bob stated.

"Thing is, Bob," the Doctor began, "The angels are draining all the power from this ship, every last bit of it. And you know what? I think they've forgotten where they're standing. I think they've forgotten the gravity of the situation. Or to put it another way, angels..."

"Just hold on tight Amy," Angel whispered to her, grabbing a handle beside her, "And don't let go!"

"Night-night," the Doctor smirked.

The gravity failed due to the loss of power and the Doctor causally turned to grab a handle himself. The deck turned on its side as they all hung on for dear life, the Doctor wincing as he twisted from the suction...

~oOo~

_"Shouldn't be too bad for us but the Daleks and the Cybermen are steeped in Void Stuff. Are you ready?" he stepped back to the left side of the room, pulling Angel with him as Rose took the right._

_After that whole fiasco with her running off to the Sphere Chamber and him getting transported to Pete's World...feeling that strain on the Mating bond...never again. He was not about to let her go, not now, not when this danger was looming. No, she was staying with him, in his arms, where he could protect her._

_"So are they," Angel remarked, looking out the window as the Daleks flew towards them._

_"Let's do it!" he called. They ran to the levers, pushing them upwards before hurrying back to the Magnaclamps._

_"Online."_

_The area was filled with the white light once more, a strong wind sweeping out of it, sucking things in. The Daleks flew through the window, smashing through the glass as they were pulled in, back to the Void. Rose, Angel, and him held tight to the clamps, struggling._

_"The breach is open!" he shouted, trying to shield Angel as much as he could from the force of the Void with his body, "Into the Void! Ha!"_

~oOo~

The Doctor twisted, checking to see if Angel and Amy were alright, seeing that Angel was holding onto the bar, one of her hands over Amy's, helping the girl hold on as they were sucked at. He looked back at the crack to see the angels pulled into it.

There was a burst of light and the crack snapped shut, the Clerics cheering at their victory.

~8~

Amy was sitting on a rock, back on the beach not even an hour later, wrapped in a blanket Angelo had given her, while the Doctor stood next to her, "Ah, bruised everywhere," she moaned.

"Me too," he agreed.

"You didn't have to climb out with your eyes shut."

"Neither did you, Angel told you you didn't have to. She was right. The angels all fell into the time field. The angel in your memory never existed. It can't harm you now."

"Then why do I remember it at all?"

"You're a time traveler now, Amy. Changes the way you see the Universe forever. Good, isn't it?"

"And the crack. Is that gone too?"

"Yeah, for now. But the explosion that caused it is still happening...somewhere out there, somewhere in time," he looked out at the ocean before glancing back to see Angel, as he had been doing quite a bit since she'd wandered off away from him, quietly talking to River before heading over with Amy.

~8~

"What do _you_ want?" River asked as she waited for the prison ship to pick her up when Angel approached her slowly, eyeing the Time Lady with disdain and irritation.

Angel eyed her a moment, not as taken aback by her words than she might have been had River not been so short with her the entire time, "Why do you hate me so much?" she _had_ to ask, it was bothering her. It bothered her that she might have done something so terrible to River Song in the future (her future at least) that the woman couldn't even let it go when dealing with a _past_ her.

River looked at her sharply, saying nothing for a moment before her gaze flickered to the Doctor speaking with Amy, "No one ever stood a chance with him because of you."

Angel was silent a moment, "It doesn't look that way from here."

River just smiled, pleased, "Good."

Angel frowned, eyeing her, that smile, that pleased smile...it was...it was the sort of smile that someone wore when something was going right. When something they did was working. She swallowed, but...it couldn't be that could it? River couldn't have had anything to do with the Doctor forgetting could she? How would she even know it worked?

"You know," River continued, tilting her head as she eyed Angel critically, as though trying to see what was so...impressive about her and failing to find it, "You should have married him when you had the chance."

Angel's eyes widened in alarm, "You know about that?" it had been a private moment between him and her, with Donna and Lance there, how could River know?!

"You'd be surprised what I know," she smirked, "What he's told me," she glanced at the Doctor, "What he _will_ tell me," she gave Angel a pointed look, "There are rumors, you see, that _I'm_ the woman who marries the Doctor."

Angel let out a breath, feeling her hearts stop, her body start to shake and grow cold.

River gave a small laugh at that, seemingly pleased with the reaction, "You might want to dig out the Dampening Bracelet," she added, _very_ much enjoying how much wider Angel's eyes could go, the fear and worry in them, "Believe you me, what's coming...not even _you_ would be able to bear."

Angel swallowed hard at that, feeling as though all the air had been sucked out of her, like she'd been punched in the gut. She couldn't breathe.

What did that mean for her and the Doctor in the future? What did it mean for the Doctor and River? Was that...was _that_ why he'd forgotten her? She had always feared that the Doctor who had asked her to Mate had rushed into it, he was so different from his old old self, so happy and eager and...he'd asked her almost out of nowhere. She'd been terrified that it was just an effect of the regeneration, making him happy and making it so sudden. She'd managed to bury that in the back of her mind, a fear that had only briefly manifested in her thoughts, that...if he regenerated again...what if he just...was the same, what if he suddenly felt differently about her.

What if he regretted Mating to her?

It would explain why he was so distant and different. What if, in his very very _very_ last moments, he truly regretted Mating to her and was doing all he could to block their bonds so that he would be as free as he could be to be with someone better suited for him than her?

Someone like River.

She closed her eyes, feeling like she was going to be ill or faint and tried to shake her head of those thoughts.

It _couldn't_ be.

The Doctor, just before he'd died, had never been closer to her, why would he suddenly regret it? How would his regret even block the bonds so completely? It didn't make sense! And...River's smirk. Did River somehow have a hand in what happened to him? She knew intimate details about the Doctor, about her even, and she knew about the Dampening Bracelet, if she knew about it...what else did she know? If she knew how it worked, if...if she'd managed to get her hands on it in the future...the woman was brilliant. She wouldn't put it past River to somehow be able to use the abilities of the bracelet to affect the Doctor. But how? They had only seen River in the Library, the Doctor had been fine, he'd been acting off since before they met River again.

She just...didn't know...

She took a breath, trying to calm down, trying to push the bile back down, when River spoke again, "You, me...handcuffs," Angel opened her eyes to see the Doctor and Amy had walked over, River now smirking at him playfully, a far different smirk than the one she'd just been bestowed with. River held out her cuffed hands at him, her smirk turning to a sly grin, casting a small victorious look at Angel, "Must it _always_ end this way?"

"What now?" the Doctor asked as Angel backed up to stand by Amy, not wanting to be near River at the moment.

"The prison ship's in orbit. They'll beam me up any second. I might have done enough to earn a pardon this time. We'll see."

"Octavian said you killed someone."

"Yes. I did."

"Someone special."

"To some."

"A hero."

"I suppose."

"Who?"

"It's a long story, Doctor, can't be told. It has to be lived. No sneak previews. Well, except for this one...you'll see me again quite soon, when the Pandorica opens."

Angel stiffened, the Pandorica...it just _kept_ being brought up. It was too much of a coincidence.

"The Pandorica, ha!" the Doctor though, didn't seem to feel the same, "That's a fairytale."

River smiled, "Oh, Doctor, aren't we all? I'll see you there."

"I look forward to it," he grinned.

Angel winced and closed her eyes, the annoyance was gone now. It seemed the adventure, the excitement, how the woman had rescued them, had allowed River just enough time to become...interesting...to the Doctor instead of annoying.

"I remember it well," River smirked as he chuckled and walked away.

"Bye," Amy murmured, "River."

"See you, Amy," River agreed, not giving a goodbye to Angel, as the handcuffs beeped, "Oh! I think that's my ride."

"Can I trust you," the Doctor eyed her, "River Song?"

"If you like, but where's the fun in that?" she laughed as the teleport was activated, carrying her away.

The Doctor turned and looked out at the ocean, thoughtful, "What are you thinking?" Amy looked at him.

"Time can be rewritten," he sighed.

~8~

The Doctor was at the console, Angel somewhere in the wardrobe trying to see if there was another belt she could find, perhaps a bit longer. She was rather slim but the last bet had been on its last hole and, she'd noticed recently, a bit tight.

Amy sat on the jump seat before him, her arms crossed, "I want to go home," she said.

"Ok," he breathed quietly.

She shook her head, smiling, and jumped up over to him, "No, not like that! I just…I just want to show you something. You're running from River. I'm running too."

~8~

The TARDIS sat in a corner of Amy's bedroom, a surprising feat to be managed as Angel hadn't been in the room to help the Doctor pilot, still somewhere in the wardrobe, while the Doctor and Amy sat on Amy's bed, looking at her wedding gown hanging on her closet door.

"Well!" he smiled.

"Yeah!"

"Blimey!"

"I know. This is the same night we left, yeah?"

He looked at his watch, "We've been gone five minutes."

Amy leaned over and picked up a ring box, opening it to show him the engagement ring, "I'm getting married in the morning."

He took the box, "Why did you leave it here?" he looked at the ring almost...wistfully...as though there were a time he'd proposed but had no ring, but that was ridiculous. The only wife he had was a civil friend on Gallifrey who had died in the war.

"Why did I leave my engagement ring when I ran away with a strange man the night before my wedding?"

"Angel too."

"You really _are_ an alien, aren't you?"

"Who's the lucky fella?"

"You met him."

"Ah, the good looking one or the other one?" he mimed a large nose.

"The other one."

"Well, he was good too."

"Thanks."

"Angel seemed to like him."

Amy eyed him, "Then what's that frown for?"

"What frown?" he looked at her, blinking owlishly.

"You frowned when you said Angel liked him."

"No I didn't."

Amy rolled her eyes and shook her head at him, "So...do you comfort a lot of people on the night before their wedding?"

"Why would you need comforting?"

"I nearly died. We were alone in the dark and I nearly died. And it made me think."

"Well, alone with Angel. But yes, that's natural. I think sometimes. Well, lots of times..."

"About what I want. About _who_ I want. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah..." he smiled, but then shook his head, "No."

"About who..." she gave him a pointed look, "I _want_."

"Oh, right, yeah..." he tried to follow, only to shake his head again, "No, still not getting it. "

"Doctor, in a word, in one very simple word even you can understand..." and then she proceeded to climb on top of him.

The Doctor quickly pushed her away and clambered over the foot rail of the bed, nearly falling to the floor in his scramble, "Uh...you're getting married in the morning!"

Amy just got up and walked around the bed, her eyes on him, like a lioness hunting her prey, "The morning's a long time away," she pushed him against the TARDIS, "What are we going to do about that?" she started to pull his braces down.

"Listen to me," he pulled the braces back up, "I'm 907 years old. Do you understand what that means?" he pushed her back.

"It's been awhile?"

"No. No. No! I'm 907, and look at me. I don't get older, like Angel, she's nearly 801, we just change. You get older. I don't, and _this_ can't _ever_ work," he pushed her away once more, his back to the TARDIS.

"Oh, you are sweet, Doctor. But I really wasn't suggesting anything quite so...long term..."

And then she kissed him.

He pushed her away instantly, "But you're human! You're Amy! You're getting married in the morning!" and then his eyes widened in realization, "In the morning."

"Doctor?" she pulled back a bit.

"It's you. It's all about you. Everything. It's about _you_."

"Hold that thought!" she turned and laid down seductively on the bed.

"Amy Pond...mad, impossible Amy Pond. I don't know why, I have no idea, but quite possibly the single most important thing in the history of the Universe is that I get you sorted out right now."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!"

He just pulled her off the bed though, "Come on!"

"Doctor," she cried, flirty.

The Doctor just pushed her into the TARDIS before looking at her clock as it changed from 11:59 6/25 to 12:00 6/26.

"Doctor?" Angel called. He turned around to see her walking down the steps, a frown on her face, no belt on though, "What's wrong?"

"Off we go!" he told her, running to the console, "We've got a fiancé to find."

"What?!" Amy's eyes widened.

And then the TARDIS took off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Why do you hate me so much?" "No one ever stood a chance with him because of you."
> 
> Time can be rewritten though, do you get the impression it might be being rewritten as Angel and River spoke? Hmmm... }:)
> 
> What did I say? Little bit of hope...and then crush it to pieces moments later }:) I'm evil ^-^ But at least we got 2 more theories about what might have happened. Did the Doctor regret the Mating? Did River have something to do with it using Dampening Technology? We'll have to wait and see }:) And we got two memory-flashes as well! Woo! Well, the Doctor didn't seem to remember them...but still, 2! :) But poor Angel, River really knew JUST what to say to put doubts in Angel's mind about the future, while also not revealing anything solid didn't she? Evil, evil, River. Psycho River...so mean :(
> 
> But...something to cheer you up...
> 
> RORY! We just have 1 more chapter (the second Meanwhile one where we see Angel discover the Doctor/Amy kiss! -gasp!-) and then we get Rory! :)


	17. Meanwhile in the TARDIS: Amy Did What?!

"I don't understand," Angel shook her head, following the Doctor as he made his way to the console that Amy was currently leaning flirtily in front of, "What happened?"

She had no idea, she'd been in the wardrobe, trying to find a belt to wear that was like her old one but there wasn't one. There were plenty of small ones, thin ones, but she liked the thick belt she'd had before and none of the others looked right. The belt was actually one that Martha had left in the TARDIS, apparently it was her sister Tish's but Martha had had it with her and left it there. She was going to return it to her when they saw her again, after her regeneration, it had been found in the wardrobe when the pink coat she'd worn had been found as well. She'd tried it on on a whim and seen that it fit her rather well, Martha had even complimented her on it and told her to keep it. And now it was lost in a forest somewhere, which made her sad, because it had belonged to Martha and that was another reason she wanted a thicker belt, to try and honor the lost belt.

She'd been about to start digging through a few chests she'd found, when the TARDIS had hummed urgently at her and she knew that it meant she was needed somewhere, that something had happened. So she'd rushed off, just made it to the console room when she saw the Doctor pushing Amy inside. Amy had looked pleased but confused about something while the Doctor was just...frowning and looking all sorts of uncomfortable.

The Doctor was still frowning even now, but at Amy, who was blocking his path to the needed controls. He leaned closer, flicking a switch quickly before pulling back, almost as though he hadn't wanted to get any closer to Amy than needed.

Amy sighed and rolled her eyes as he moved around the console, "Oh typical bloke, straight to fixing his motor."

"That's the thing Amy, I am _not_ a typical bloke," he defended as Angel slowly moved to help him set the controls to get them into the Vortex, though she was eyeing the two of them warily and in confusion, they hadn't answered her question.

What had happened? She hadn't seen anything, not that she could see everything, or felt anything, well... _that_ wasn't exactly true. She had felt a bit of a flash of alarm through the Doctor, followed by a moment of disgust, and then realization. But she'd been trying not to look into his mind as much as she had at first, especially not after that adventure with River. She just...River had warned her of the Dampening Bracelet. She didn't want to use it, she didn't ever want to have to use it, and she couldn't be sure if the woman had said it in a way that she should wear it because of what was coming or...or if she was just trying to keep her cut off from the Doctor. So she'd promised herself to try and not look into his mind unless it was necessary. She could still feel him, yes, hear him, of course, but she could almost...put a thin barrier between it. Like pulling a curtain closed, it was thin and flimsy, but it helped block just enough where it wasn't a constant stream of thoughts. She really didn't know what had happened, looking into the Doctor's mind now, all he was thinking of was finding Rory for some reason, which she was very pleased about.

She had been thinking, in the wardrobe, that she should ask him if they might bring Rory along as her companion when she'd been looking for a belt. The Doctor had Amy (and her), but...she felt...alone. Yes, the Doctor and Amy were there, but, there were times she felt like...they didn't really notice her. Amy had noticed her and spoken to her a lot more during this last adventure, but...she wanted her own companion. And ever since she'd worked out that Rory was meant to be just that (a nurse, a man, with an R name like all her feelings had pointed to) she had wanted to ask him along, just...hadn't gotten the chance.

"Sorry," Amy turned to him, "Did I do something wrong cos I'm getting kind of mixed signals here," she slapped a lever down with a huff.

"Mixed signals?" Angel frowned, moving to pull the lever back up since leaving it down for 2 more seconds, with the controls the Doctor was fiddling with, would have caused the TARDIS to explode. The pit that had developed in her stomach ever since she'd realized what this new regeneration meant for the Doctor and other women grew.

Had he been flirting with Amy?

She'd tried not to think of it, ever since they met the older Amelia, she'd tried to see any (and all) interactions between them as platonic but...had he? He...almost seemed to be flirting with River at times, that comment about wanting to kiss the woman had been a dagger to her hearts, but she'd tried to brush it off as his overwhelming relief that everyone was ok that had made him say it. Like how humans tended to shout that they loved someone when, really, they were just grateful that the other person had done something nice for them. Still though, it bothered her to think that something had happened between him and Amy...he still wasn't thinking about it, using the TARDIS and the controls and her as a distraction.

She blinked, pausing at that, her? He was...actually thinking of _her_. Actively thinking of her really. As she looked at him, she could see bits of his thoughts in her mind, his thoughts really were quite jumbled at the moment, but...he almost seemed like he was trying to not let the conversation go to where Amy clearly wanted to take it, like...he didn't want her to know what happened. Like he was...worried about how she would react...

And then she felt him grow confused as to _why_ he should be that worried about her reaction and saw him shake his head to focus on piloting once more.

"What sort of signals?" she looked at Amy again.

"He turned up in the middle of the night, right before my wedding," Amy explained, "Got me out of my bed in my nightie, which he then didn't let me change out of for _ages_ , and took me for a spin in his time machine," Amy smiled, "No mixed signals there. THAT is just a signal. Like a great big bat signal in the sky, get your coat off the Doctor is in."

The Doctor started to laugh at being referred to as Batman, but shook his head, something in his gut clenching terribly when he realized what Amy was implying, that he had whisked her away because he had feelings for her, "No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. It's not like that," he said, though Amy frowned, seeing that his focus was actually on...Angel...when he said that, like he was trying to reassure her what had happened, what he'd done, wasn't what was being described, but then he rounded on her as well, "That's _not_ what I'm like."

"He really isn't," Angel sighed, shifting a bit as she absently fiddled with a control, glancing at Amy, "And I _helped_ take you along so, really, _no_ signals."

At all actually.

She _could_ still feel the Doctor, she'd pulled the curtain aside at the moment, desperately wanting to see it in his mind and feel it in his hearts that it really was nothing. And it was, nothing that is. I was like...he felt nothing for Amy at all aside from the fondness he felt for all his companions, though it was now coupled with awkwardness. But at least she could take comfort in the fact that he was NOT attracted to Amy, which was quite a relief really, since Amy was a beautiful, young, flirty, fiery, and strong woman.

"Then what _is_ he like?" Amy turned to Angel.

She'd noticed the girl seemed to know the Doctor better than even he did himself at times. She always got the feeling that there was something...missing in him. He'd get this look in his eye at times, she saw it, sometimes when he looked at Angel, like there was something...not quite...right. Like there was a vague sense of something. It was like...there were gaps in him, in his memory, in his soul, in his hearts...like he wasn't...complete. That was the only way she could describe it, like he wasn't complete. Hearing about how he and Angel were the only ones left had made her think, perhaps it was his people who were missing, that maybe he just needed to be with someone, have someone love him and love someone in return to be complete.

Now though...she was starting to feel like there was more to it.

Angel opened her mouth to answer, but paused, realizing she really couldn't say. This new him...was so different and while she DID know what he was like, having access to his mind and hearts and just...feeling it, there were things that were almost...holding him back from being who he truly was. She couldn't explain it, why she felt like that, why she felt like something was keeping him back, but that was how she felt.

"It's hard to describe," was what she settled for instead.

"I don't know," the Doctor shrugged, before smiling, "Gandalf. I'm a space Gandalf, or the little green one in Star Wars," he made a humming noise and spun around as though he had a light saber in his hand.

"You really are _not_ ," Amy shook her head, laughing, "You are a bloke."

"I'm the Doctor."

"Every room you walk into you laugh at all the men and show off to all the girls."

"Do not."

Angel gave him a look this time, smiling just a little, because Amy had him pegged, he always did that, even now, "And what about Rory?"

The Doctor laughed at that, miming 'big nose' as Amy let out a small offended noise, "You laughed!"

"No, that was just an..." he struggled to find the word.

"Accidental snort?" Angel supplied, shaking her head, her smile falling to a frown.

She rather liked Rory. He was sweet, from what she'd seen of him, very nice, compassionate, moral, caring, and...rather underappreciated, if she had to put a word to it. He loved Amy very much, that much was obvious to anyone with eyes, even the Doctor could see it she knew, but...Amy didn't seem to notice.

Well she could relate very much to that.

"Of fondness!" he added, pointing at them.

"You are a bloke and you don't know it," Amy smiled, before stepping closer to him and putting her arms around his neck, neither of them noticing Angel stiffening on the other side of the console and stare at them with wide eyes, hurt and shock and disbelief in them, "And here I am to _help_ ," she leaned in, trying to kiss him, but he squirmed away.

Angel closed her eyes a moment, letting out a breath as she tried to erase what she'd seen from her mind. Well...now she knew what happened. She could only pray that the Doctor had pushed Amy away the first time as he had now. It was a small comfort to know he had. It hurt that this had even happened, both in front of her and in Amy's room. Dear God, how come it hurt so much?! It was one thing to have River teasing about it, it was one thing for it to have happened out of her sight, but...to see it happening, right in front of her...

And it wasn't even just that Amy was trying to kiss the Doctor, no, that hurt plenty, that killed her yes, even if Amy didn't know they were Mates, even if she thought the Doctor was available because he had told her so himself (in his own way). It was that...AMY wasn't available, Amy had Rory, Rory loved her. Amy was getting MARRIED to Rory, she'd just said that it was the night before her wedding and Rory was her boyfriend last she saw of them. Even if they weren't engaged, even if they were just dating...Rory loved her.

God, Rory loved Amy SO much, she'd seen it in the boy's eyes just upon meeting him, and Amy was throwing herself at another man, trying to seduce him, trying to kiss him, on her _the night before her wedding_! How could she _do_ that to Rory?! How could she just throw that away? Didn't she have any idea what it was like to have someone love you that much? How lucky she was that Rory did love her, that he showed her he loved her, that he still loved her?

Rory didn't deserve that.

"That is _not_ why you're here," the Doctor told Amy firmly, something in his tone making Angel look up at them, watching quietly, solemnly.

Amy just clutched his braces, _still_ trying to flirt despite his warning tone, "Then why am I here?"

He just grabbed her hands to stop her, "Because!" he shouted, nearly snapping at her, "Because I can't..." he sighed, "I can't see it anymore," he admitted quietly, before turning to move over to the jump seat.

Angel's gaze turned sad. She'd seen _that_ as well in him. This him, was so different. It was like he was missing parts of himself. The last him had been so excited to see even the same things through new eyes. This him...seemed to have lost that. It was like he'd lost what got him excited and passionate and invested. He'd lost more than he realized, she felt.

"See what?" Amy asked quietly, sensing this was a serious issue.

"I'm 907," he explained, plopping down onto the seat, "After a while you just...can't see it," he sighed and looked at Angel, "How you manage it amazes me."

She was 800, nearly 801 by now, but he supposed it had to do with how little she'd seen of the Universe during her time on Gallifrey, everything was like new to her since then, since the War. Everything was a wonder to her.

"See what?" Amy looked between them, frowning as she saw a softening in the Doctor's gaze as he looked at Angel a moment longer before shaking his head.

"Everything," he answered, "I look at a star...and it's just a big ball of burning gas and I know how it began, I know how it ends, not even because of Angel, I was just probably there both times. Now after a while everything is just...stuff. _That's_ the problem. You make all of space and time your backyard and what do you have? A backyard. But you!" he stood suddenly, pointing at Amy, "You can see it. And when _you_ see it, _I_ see it."

Angel looked down at the console, closing her eyes a moment, _she_ hadn't even been a consideration in that, even after he'd just said that SHE still saw the Universe as an incredible miracle.

It hurt.

"And that's the only reason you took me with you," Amy breathed, heart broken at that notion, clearly having been hoping that the reason to take her along was a little more...special than that.

Angel took a breath, even then, even feeling as miserable as she was, she _never_ liked seeing others that sad, "Of course not," she stepped around the console to Amy's side, putting a smile on her face, small though it was, and an arm around the girl's shoulder, "There's loads of other reasons."

Amy smiled at her, "I was certainly hoping so."

"For one," she nudged Amy, "You're ginger, and Gingers United needs more members besides Donna and I..."

Amy blinked, "Wait a minute!" her eyes widened, realizing something in Angel's words, "Does that mean I'm not the first then?" she looked at the Doctor, "There _have_ been others travelling with you two!" she'd always been suspicious of that, wondered who else might know the madman and Angel since so many seemed to know them already, clearly they had gotten around.

Angel laughed, thinking fondly of their past companions, and even a little about a future one she'd like to have, "Of course! What fun is travelling without friends?"

"We've had loads of them," the Doctor agreed, "Friends, you know chums, pals, mates, buddies," he winced, "Not _Mates_ ," he mumbled to himself, "Forget Mates."

He certainly was good at _that_ though, Angel couldn't help but think.

"And out of all those friends, how many, would you say, just out of curiosity, were girls?" Amy asked.

"Some of them I suppose…must have been…"

" _Some_?" Angel scoffed, she often felt bad for how much 'girl time' the Doctor had to put up with. He was like a little Y-chromosome on a raft drifting out on an ocean of estrogen, literally, the TARDIS was a 'she' too.

"It's hard to tell, it's a gray area…"

"Under half, over half?" Amy guessed.

"Probably…slightly…little bit over?"

Amy looked at Angel, knowing she didn't tend to lie, the woman mouthing 'almost all of them.'

She nodded, "Hmm, young?"

"Everyone's young compared to me," the Doctor smirked, "Even Angel."

"Hot?" Amy teased.

"No! No, no, no, no, no, none of them. Not really. Not at all. Probably not..." he hesitated a moment, "Maybe one or two…I didn't really notice."

Angel rolled her eyes at that, not even seeming to notice the curious look on the Doctor's face as he thought on that remark. He _had_ noticed the first batch, from before the War. He'd noticed they were attractive by human means, he'd noticed they were beautiful, even if HE personally hadn't been attracted to them. But... _after_ the War...he just...hadn't anymore. He truly hadn't noticed their looks at all, they were just...humans, companions, pink and yellow or brown and black or white and red among other colors. It was like they were just...people, nice people, but he just...hadn't given a single thought to their appearances in that way. Why though?

"They were all lovely women Amy," Angel told her, "Each unique and beautiful in her own way. Like you."

Amy had to smile at that, "Got any pictures?"

"No!" the Doctor shouted.

" _Really_?" she scoffed, "This big old machine doesn't have _any_ kind of visual records?"

"No."

"They're voice-locked," Angel added, smiling a bit as the Doctor floundered.

"Oh, voice-locked," Amy nodded, "So I would just have to say 'show me all visual records of previous TARDIS inhabitants?'"

"No," the Doctor smirked, moving to lean against the console, "No, no, no, voice-locked as in _I_ would have to say 'show me all visual records of previous TARDIS inhabitants.'"

Amy laughed, "Oh, thank you!" she patted him on the shoulder and turned to lean on the railing, watching a monitor just above the doors flashing with pictures of all the previous people who had travelled with the Doctor...mostly women.

"No!" he spun around, looking at the women flashing across the screen, "No! No! No! Oh…"

"Oh Gandalf!" Amy smirked, her mouth soon falling open as she stared at just how many women there were, impressed with the collection.

The Doctor just spun around to glare up at the rotor, "Thanks! Thanks so much. Leave out the metal dog why don't you?"

Angel's smile faded a bit as she looked at the images start to repeat, showing different images of the same companions, none of which involved her there. It seemed she didn't even rank as 'companion' anymore, even if that was how the Doctor seemed to almost treat her. There were no records of her among the women.

"Is that a leather bikini?" Amy gaped.

Angel shook her head from her thoughts, "Oh don't forget K9," she called back to the TARDIS, "I love him and Mickey," she smiled widely as images of Mickey and K9, mostly Mickey though, began to flash across as well as some of the other, older male companions, which made her smile, happy that Mickey hadn't been left out.

The Doctor looked over at her for that, she'd brought quite a few past travelers in only minutes, first Donna, now Mickey...he frowned, thinking on that, Mickey was rather...important to Angel, wasn't he?

~oOo~

_"Besides, I've got a much bigger adventure ahead!" Sarah Jane smiled, "Time I stopped waiting for you and found a life of my own."_

_"Well then," Angel spoke up, "If you can't come, then I think Mickey should."_

_Everyone looked at her, startled at her suggestion._

_"What?" Mickey breathed, stunned that she seemed to be inviting him._

_"You're not the tin dog Mickey, not to me," she told him as Mickey looked at her in surprise, he hadn't mentioned his fear to her nor did he think Sarah Jane had, "And…" she continued, starting to grin, "I've bonded to the TARDIS as well, which means I am officially a recognized pilot and can take a companion of my own and the Doctor's got no say in it whatsoever."_

_He pouted at that._

_Angel just smiled completely and walked over to him, putting her arms around his neck, "But still, I'd never do that to you, so what do you think? Can he come? Please? As my companion?"_

_"Oh go on, Doctor," Sarah Jane called, seeing him debating it, "Sarah Jane Smith, Mickey Smith. You need a Smith onboard!"_

_"Ok then, I could do with a laugh," he nodded._

~oOo~

He shook his head, starting to smile a bit, remembering what would help sort the Amy situation while also helping cheer up Angel, she had seemed to enjoy Rory last time they'd met him, perhaps he would cheer her up again, "Right," he ran to the controls, "That's it. Rory! We're gonna find Rory and we're gonna find him now!"

"Yay!" Angel cheered, actually, _finally_ , feeling happy about something instead of faking it. She loved Rory and now they were finally going to get him!

"He's at his stag night…" Amy waved him off, getting back to the pictures.

"Well then…" the Doctor smiled, "Let's make it a great one!"

He pulled a lever and the box took off!

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RORY! You have no idea how excited I am for him. I can say that the next chapter will spark the beginning of things looking up for Angel :) She really does need another companion and Rory is just perfect! I seriously would love one of my own :)
> 
> I know this chapter was semi-short, lol, I actually doubled it from its original word count and got it to the original 3,000 promised words and then some :) I feel like it really looks into the Doctor and Angel and what is going on in the Doctor's head. He's starting to get suspicious of things, isn't he? Like how he went from noticing the companions to not. Why he's so concerned about Angel's thoughts on things. Among others :)


	18. The Vampires of Venice: The Shadows

An elegant, dark haired woman sat on a throne, like a queen, in Venice as a young man, also dressed in noble clothes, stood behind her. A black man and a young woman, his daughter, were brought before her for an audience, both dressed in simple commoner's attire. He bowed as his daughter curtseyed, "Signora," be began, "Your school offers a chance for betterment, escape. My daughter..." he nervously removed his cap, "Isabella, is 17 now, but what prospects are there for the daughter of a boat-builder? There's no future for us. No future...but you."

"I am moved by your concern for your daughter," she said, eyeing the man and the woman beside him, "I believe protecting the future of one's own is a sacred duty."

"Signora..." he took Isabella's hand, "She is my world."

"Then we will take your world."

Isabella and her father let out a laugh of relief as they hugged each other, thrilled they were being given this incredible chance, "I knew it!"

Signora stood, smirking, "Say goodbye to your daughter."

"Now, Signora?" the man frowned, looking more than a bit alarmed at the sudden demand.

"Why wait? Time ticks," she nodded to the man who escorted them in and he moved to lead the man away.

"Be brave, my girl," he kissed her hand, knowing he couldn't risk her losing this opportunity, "Make me proud," he looked back once more as he was led away.

"Step into the light, my dear. That's it," Isabella walked forward, glancing at her father as the door slammed shut behind him. She looked up as the Signora and the younger man who had stood with the woman circled her, "What say you, Francesco? Do you like her?"

"Oh, I do, Mother," Francesco said, smiling as he eyed her critically, "I do," and then he opened his mouth to reveal a row of fangs.

Isabella gasped in horror and screamed.

~8~

In a pub, Rory was at his stag night, standing in the back of the room, on his mobile, trying to leave a message for Amy over the din behind him, "Hey! It's me! Hello! How are you? The reason for this call is because I haven't told you for _seven hours_ that I love you, which is a scandal, and even if we weren't getting married tomorrow, I'd ask you to marry me anyway. Yes, I would, because you are smashing," behind him a large cake was wheeled in and 'The Stripper' began to play, his mates poking him till he turned around, "Oh...oh. Oh, blimey. I've...I've...I...I...I...I'll see you tomorrow," he hung up, shifting a bit at the sight of the cake. He'd requested no strippers or anything of the sort, it really would be pointless for him, he'd only ever had eyes for Amy nor would he want to look at another woman. But he knew they'd likely gotten it as a gift for them as well since they knew he wouldn't take advantage of the moment.

Which was fine with him, it was a fun night! And he was getting _married_ in the morning! To the best, most beautiful, most wonderful woman in the world! It couldn't come quickly enough.

"Out!" the men started to cheer, "Out! Out!"

And then...

The Doctor popped his head through the top of the cake.

The chanting stopped but the music continued as Rory shook his head in disbelief, the Doctor looking around, bemused. A moment later he turned around, "Rory! That's a relief. I thought I'd burst out of the wrong cake...again."

"I told you to try this cake first," Angel said as she walked in from a back room where she'd set the TARDIS down. She beamed though the moment she saw Rory, "Rory!" she cheered, rushing over and giving him a big old hug, "Hello Rory!"

He laughed a little bit as he stumbled back, Angel, for being a bit small, was a rather...powerful hugger...well, that and he wasn't expecting quite so enthusiastic a hello. But...it was nice, really nice that she seemed so happy to see him. Not even Amy got that excited to see him at times, "Hi Angel," he smiled.

"I missed you," she squeezed him once more, before pulling back, looking at him with genuine interest, "How are you?"

He blinked, he'd only met the girl for a few minutes at most about two years ago but...he...he'd missed her too, to be honest. She'd been kind to him, interested in what he had to say, and she'd made sure to include him, to listen to him, she'd been very polite and just...genuine in how she treated him. She'd _noticed_ him. The Doctor had been too focused on Zero, on the aliens and the danger and the running about, but Angel had been focused on HIM as well, she'd tried to reassure him and keep him in the know, which he really appreciated since he was basically discovering that Amy's imaginary friends were actually real. It was quite jarring an experience.

"I'm fine," he told her quietly, "I, um, missed you too."

And he really had.

Amy had told him and Mels, their friend, all these tales about the Doctor, all these little made up stories about his adventures, and...to be quite honest...he'd gotten rather sick of them rather quickly, the Doctor this and the Doctor that and the Doctor was so amazing. So he'd always asked about the Angel that travelled with him. He knew what it was like to be a side-note in a story, it was always Amy and Mels, with him tagging along so he supposed, in a way, he'd felt a kindred spirit in Angel, even as a child. He'd pester Amy about stories of the Doctor, bear through them, just so he could slip in questions about the Angel as well, so as not to seem too suspicious. He'd always had a crush on Amy and he didn't want her to think he had a crush on Angel by constantly asking about her. He didn't. Have a crush on Angel that is. He just...felt like she deserved to have stories told about her as well.

He'd gotten to know a little about her from those stories, so he felt like he knew her, and then to actually meet her, to see that she really was as psychic and kind and nice as the stories claimed her to be. Well, that had been rather nice. And then the Doctor had stolen her away for two years now. And he _did_ find that he missed her. There were _months_ after the two had disappeared where Amy obsessed over whether they'd come back 'in five minutes' and he'd found himself wishing they'd come back, not just to help Amy stop sulking, but because...Angel had made him feel like a part of the adventure, included, noticed. It had been...nice...for someone to actually _see_ him. Mels had only exacerbated the situation, asking for details about Zero and other details on the Doctor, the two girls gossiping and making up stories about him, made her a bit more focused on the man. He'd missed Angel because she probably would have talked to him instead of leaving him sitting quietly in the corner as the women gushed.

It seemed he was right to wish she was there. At his stag party, surrounded by other men (most he could admit were probably more impressive than him) AND the Doctor...she _still_ noticed him and wanted to say hello to him first. He'd probably be touched by that if he weren't so confused as to why they were there in the first place. He _really_ hoped that no other aliens were about to attack the night before his wedding.

"That reminds me!" the Doctor shouted suddenly, his gaze on Angel and Rory, well, on Angel really, and how the girl was smiling away at Rory, truly looking happy to see the boy.

He was thrilled about that, that she was happy, she'd seemed so down lately that he was really quite happy that she was happy again...but...at the same time...he felt like marching over there and pulling her away from Rory (she had taken the boy's hands after pulling away from the hug and hadn't seemed to let go) and standing between the two of them so that she would be looking at HIM instead. It...rubbed him the wrong way, badly, that _Rory_ had managed to put that wide smile on Angel's face when all his own efforts had failed to do it. And really, she was standing quite close to Rory. And what was about that hug? She'd hugged him quite a while (well, a normal amount he supposed) and rather tightly (no more tightly than she'd hugged Jack in the past) and she was still touching him (though Angel had always been a hugger and a hand-holder in the past) and he felt something twist painfully inside him at that. He'd _just_ had issues with Amy fawning over him, they didn't need the same thing happening with Rory and Angel, which really, there was a real danger of that happening because Angel was the sort of girl that it was hard not to love completely and entirely just from meeting her.

He would know.

He paused at that, shaking his head, no, no he _wouldn't_ know. How would he know? He didn't love Angel, not like that...he rubbed his chest, wincing as a pain struck his hearts at that thought, what was _that_ about? Angel was a friend, a close friend, a Time Lady, one of the women to spend the longest amount of time travelling with him. She was important to him, yes of course she was. She was the last Time Lady, the TARDIS loved her, she was family to all his companions, and she was his friend, a dear friend. So yes, he supposed, in a way, he _did_ love her.

He winced again and rubbed his chest harder, there was that zing again.

"There's a girl outside in a bikini," he continued when he realized they were all staring at him for his previous shout, "Could someone let her in, give her a jumper? Lucy. Lovely girl. Diabetic. Now, then. Rory," he pointed at the boy, "We need to talk about your fiancé. She tried to kiss me."

Everyone gasped as Rory's mouth dropped open, horrified. So focused were they on the Doctor and what he'd said, no one noticed Angel's expression completely drop as well.

"Tell you what, though. You're a lucky man, she's a great kisser."

Someone dropped their glass and they stared at him.

"I've had better though," he shrugged, pausing a moment to try and think about when that could have been.

He couldn't remember really kissing anyone and enjoying it, sure he'd given his wife a chaste kiss or two, when their children had been born, but...he couldn't really remember kissing anyone after that in an enjoyable way. So why did he feel so warm inside thinking about someone kissing him, like...someone had kissed him and just...made his world light up. Amy's kiss hadn't done that at all. He supposed it was nice by human standards, but he really couldn't help but feel like he really had had better.

...and then he noticed them staring at him with wide eyes and open mouths and realized what he'd just said, "Funny how you can say something in your head and it SOUNDS fine..."

Angel just shook her head and sighed, "Come on Rory," she linked her arm though his, giving him a gentle squeeze, feeling truly bad for the boy to hear about his wife-to-be's exploits in front of all his friends, she could empathize, that was how she'd felt seeing it happen before her, learning that someone had kissed her Mate, "Let's go sort this out," and slowly led him out of the room, the Doctor watching her go with a pout at how she had gone with Rory, before scrambling out of the cake and rushing after them, not even casting a glance back at the other men watching them.

~8~

The Doctor was sitting in a harness seat that was dangling under the TARDIS's glass floor, doing some welding work, while Amy paced nervously above, her gaze flickering to Rory. Rory was staring out at the TARDIS while Angel was leaning against the railing, watching the Doctor, biting her lip at each little spark that the TARDIS made in protest of what he was doing.

"Oh," the Doctor smiled, "The life out there, it dazzles. I mean, it blinds you to the things that are important. I've seen it devour relationships and plans..." Rory glanced down, nervous, when the TARDIS let off a small explosion courtesy of the Doctor, "Oh! It's meant to do that."

Angel just rubbed her face, "I'm going to have to fix that later," she moaned quietly, earning a small smile from Rory, who was starting to get the feeling she fixed quite a lot of things and not just in the TARDIS, and an agreeing hum from the box herself.

"...because for one person to have seen all that, to taste the glory and then go back…it WILL tear you apart. So...I'm sending you somewhere. Together."

"Whoa!" Amy spun around, "What, like a _date_?"

"Anywhere you want, any time you want," the Doctor got up from the harness and walked up the steps to join them all at the console, "One condition, it has to be amazing. The Moulin Rouge in 1890! The first Olympic Games! Think of it as a wedding present, because, frankly, it's either this or tokens."

"I'm sorry Rory," Angel walked over to him, linking her arm through his, "Are you alright?" she looked at him in concern, seeing him staring around with a slightly stunned expression, "It's a bit much to take in, I know."

He nodded vaguely at that, patting Angel's hand in thanks for her concern, none of them seeing Amy's gaze narrow a bit at the small interaction between them.

The Doctor nodded as well, moving up the stairs that led to the halls, "Tiny box, huge room inside. What's that about? Let me explain."

"It's another dimension," Rory cut in.

The Doctor turned around, "It's basically another dimen...what?"

Angel smiled widely at that, well look at that, her future companion (for she was determined NOT to let this opportunity to have him become her companion slip past again) was brilliant, "How do you know that Rory?"

Rory looked at her, blinking as he saw she was genuinely curious and not condescending or even scoffing at him, she...actually seemed intrigued with his knowing that, "After Prisoner Zero, I've been reading up on all the latest scientific theories," he shrugged bashfully, "FTL travel, parallel Universes."

"That is amazing," Angel told him, "I'm impressed."

Rory smiled at that.

"I like the bit when someone says, 'It's bigger on the inside!'" the Doctor cut in, striding up to them.

Amy frowned as she saw his demeanor shift. He seemed...irritated...with Rory and Angel's tiny discussion, his entire countenance had drooped, his expression was set in a line, his posture tense...and he'd spoken just a bit more loudly, like...he was trying to pull their attention to him and away from each other, which...she had to admit, she was a tiny bit relieved had happened.

"I always look forward to that."

"Don't worry Rory," Angel just squeezed Rory's arm, seemingly unperturbed by the Doctor's antics, in fact to her, it seemed almost...familiar, like his old selves, "He just doesn't like getting shown up by anyone," she shot him a grin and moved over to the console, starting to put in commands, actually feeling...excited about this. Actually feeling...better than she had in a while. It was like...she'd been waiting for this for so long, to finally have it happening, being so close to getting another companion...she felt...happy. Yes she was hurt and sad and devastated about the Doctor and his amnesia, but, in a way, she hoped this would help, that Rory would help. He was brilliant and a nurse and...someone she could relate to.

She just...she just needed one person to be there with her, to be someone she could confide in and be there for and have them there for her as well. Just...one person, just one. She was stronger than she had been, had been more confident than her past selves, but...she still needed help at times and...the Doctor wasn't going to provide it. She needed someone to rely on at times, someone to support her and...just...be there. If she had just one true friend with her, she felt like...she just might be able to endure this, endure what River had warned might be coming, to...not be alone. And she really and truly did feel happy that Rory was there. The Doctor had Amy, she should have someone too, she should have Rory along as well.

Rory smiled at that, watching her with a soft look in his eyes, one that worried Amy as she saw it. It was similar to how he looked at her at times, but...different. There was always something...more...when he looked at her, she hadn't the faintest idea what that 'more' might be but it was a small comfort to her. Rory...seemed to like Angel a lot. And it...bothered her. He'd spent most of his time around her and Mels growing up, never really around other girls, hadn't ever looked at Mels like that, in fact, Mels almost seemed a bit...distant with him but tolerant of his presence. She'd never seen him take an interest in a girl besides her, and now...he seemed interested in Angel. Oh she knew there was no chance of him loving her in that way, not at all, that wasn't anywhere in his eyes or his actions, but...he did like Angel in a way.

She shifted, watching him a moment longer, she supposed she _should_ feel a bit happy about that. Just a few hours ago she was sure she'd be thinking that, if she could set Angel and Rory together, then the Doctor would be all hers...but...something in her gut at the moment, at seeing them actually interacting together and getting on well with each other, twisted painfully. She didn't like it. Especially where her thoughts had been leading before they'd picked up Rory. Wasn't this what she'd been hoping for? That Angel and Rory would be close and, perhaps, be a distraction so she could 'get to know the Doctor' better? So why did it bother her so much to see it happening?

Rory just shook his head, more cheered by the fact he'd apparently one upped the Doctor than anything. Amy had said that Angel had been there as a child, had travelled with the Doctor for a very long time. He would think she'd know him better than anyone. For HER to think that he'd gotten one over the Doctor and 'shown him up' well, that made him feel rather good about it, made him feel a bit clever. And also…it made him feel a little pleased that he'd seemed to impress Angel. It wasn't often he managed to do that, impress a girl, he rarely ever seemed to impress Amy. It was nice, it felt nice, to be seen as impressive by someone, especially considering he was a human and the Doctor was standing right there.

"So, this date," Amy began, clearing her throat and walking down to Rory, taking his arm as Angel had done, "I'm kind of done with running down corridors. What do you think, Rory?"

"Oh, um," Rory blinked, a bit startled Amy had asked him, she usually just went into things and dragged him along.

"How about somewhere...romantic?" the Doctor suggested, no one seeing him throwing a small, really very tiny, look at Angel, who had her back to him as she worked away at the console.

"I think I know _just_ the place," Angel smiled, pulling a lever and setting the TARDIS in motion.

~8~

The TARDIS materialized in the middle of a busy market, though no one took any notice of it. The Doctor stepped out first, grinning as he saw where Angel had picked to take them all, opening his arms, "Venice! Venezia! La Serenissima! Impossible city. Preposterous city!"

Rory and Amy stepped out, looking on in amazement as Angel joined them, dressed in a light blue dress with golden embellishments, rolled shoulders and gold sleeves, her hair in a bun behind her, allowing her to blend in.

"Founded by refugees running from Attila the Hun. It was just a collection of little wooden huts in the marsh, but became one of the most powerful cities in the world. Constantly being invaded, constantly flooding...constantly...just..." he glanced at Angel, blinking at he saw her attire, he'd been in a bit of a rush to get out of the TARDIS and hadn't even seen her reappear from disappearing into the wardrobe till now, "Beautiful," he swallowed, staring at her a moment, blinking quite a bit, which made Amy frown and Rory smile a bit, both looking between him and Angel.

Angel, though, shifted, uncomfortable with how he was staring at her, it was...weird...he hadn't stared at her this long in...ages, "Is it too much?" she asked, looking at her dress.

"No!" the Doctor shook his head, realizing how rude he was being just...gawking at her, "No, no, not at all, you look...um...very..." he floundered a moment for the words, making Rory smirk at seeing he wasn't the only man out of his depth at times, "Pretty girl...good!" he added quickly, "Pretty _good_."

~oOo~

_"I think you broke a record getting here Doctor," Martha commented, "You barely gave me enough time to get her ready."_

_"Ready for what?" he frowned, looking at Martha confused._

_Martha smiled and just nodded at Angel._

_He blinked and looked at her, his mouth dropping open as his eyes widened, staring at her openly for her outfit, making Angel shift a bit under his gaze, tucking a piece of hair behind her ears, something, he'd noticed, she'd done ever since 1913. Her hair usually didn't hang freely enough for her to need to move it behind her ear, but she just...did it, like a little habit, though her hair now had been let free and given just a bit of poof and volume at the top. All it really did was draw his attention to her hair, to her face, her eyes, her ears, her hands, just...her._

_And right now, all he could see was her._

_She was wearing a tight, emerald green, short-sleeved shirt that was a bit low-cut, the black trim of it drawing his eyes to a spot he admitted he stared at just a mite too long before flushing and pulling his gaze away...though it only ended up travelling down to her very, very short green shorts, down the length of her legs to her black boots that went up to her knees..._

_He swallowed hard, "You...you look pretty girl...good!" he shouted, his face now redder than Angel's hair, "Pretty good! Beautiful really. Stunning..."_

_Angel just smiled, a bit pleased with his reaction despite how uncomfortable she felt in the outfit, it really was far too tight for her liking, and took his hand, kissing his scarred knuckles, Martha smirking off to the side._

~oOo~

"For Venice, I mean, the dress, it's right for Venice," he winced, spinning around, now thoroughly embarrassed, he was just making a big old mess of this, wasn't he? What was wrong with him? Yes, Angel looked nice in the dress, but...why was he getting so flustered about it? River had looked lovely in her black dress too.

Angel's small smile that had formed at his flusterings faded, seeing his mind comparing her in her dress to River in hers. She swallowed hard and looked away.

Rory frowned, seeing that, "I think you look lovely," he called to her, making her look at him.

"Thank you Rory," she smiled, "You're very handsome too."

Rory blinked, "But I'm not dressed for Venice," he looked down at his outfit, his jeans and red shirt with a picture of Amy and him in a heart, a black vest on, very much not in the style of Venice.

"So?" Angel shook her head, "Rule 2 of travelling with us Rory," she beamed, "I don't lie."

Rory started to smile at that, actually blushing slightly at the compliment. Most women just made fun of his nose, Amy had a time or two as well, so he'd...he'd never really thought of himself as handsome before. That was nice, that was really nice. Everyone, he believed, deserved a compliment in their life, and he genuinely got the impression that Angel didn't lie often. She thought he was handsome. So...maybe he was. He thought Amy was gorgeous so he'd never really understood why she had said yes to HIM, when he'd asked her to marry him. She could have anyone, truly anyone, probably even the Doctor if she wanted, and she'd said yes to HIM. He never really thought he could compare to other men in her life, some of the more masculine and handsome men she'd dated in the past before they'd gotten together, so to hear some other woman call him handsome...maybe he was.

"Oh, you gotta love Venice," the Doctor cut in once more, though sounding more like he was struggling to find something to say, really making Amy frown now, he was making a habit of that wasn't he, interrupting Angel and Rory talking, though she had to admit she was a bit relieved that he was, Rory always complimented HER so it was a bit offputting to hear him complimenting someone else, "And so many people did. Byron, Napoleon, Casanova. Oh, that reminds me," he checked his watch.

"I made sure to get us here before that," Angel told him, "It's 1580."

He looked at her a moment and nodded, turning to Rory and Amy, "That's alright then. Casanova doesn't get born for 145 years. Don't want to run into him. I owe him a chicken."

"You owe Casanova a chicken?" Rory asked as the Doctor walked off, the trio following him.

"Don't ask," Angel groaned, recalling it.

It had been during his last incarnation and had involved Donna attempting to use her 'womanly wiles' to try and out-woo Casanova early in their travels with her.

"Long story," the Doctor waved Rory off, "We had a bet."

Angel shook her head at that, "I'll tell you all about it later Rory," she crossed her hearts, "Let's enjoy this trip first though, yeah?"

Rory nodded, "Yeah."

An official looking man dressed in black stepped out in front of the Doctor, blocking the path to the stairs they had been heading towards, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Papers, if you please. Proof of residency, current bill of medical inspection."

"There you go, fella," he flashed the psychic paper for the official to take, "All to your satisfaction, I think you'll find."

"I am so sorry, Your Holiness," the official bowed deeply, "I didn't realize."

The Doctor took the paper back, "No worries. You were just doing your job. Sorry, what exactly is your job?"

"Checking for aliens, visitors from foreign lands what might bring the plague with them."

"Oh, that's nice, see where you bring me?" Amy whacked the Doctor's shoulder as Angel frowned at that, she hadn't sensed any sort of disease or suffering around, "The plague!"

"Don't worry, Viscountess," he bowed as Amy nodded primly at him, "No, we're under quarantine here, no one comes in, no one goes out, and all because of the grace and wisdom of our patron, Signora Rosanna Calvierri," he pointed to a crest on the box he was carrying.

"How interesting," the Doctor eyed it, "I heard the plague died out years ago."

"Not out there. No, Signora Calvierri has seen it with her own eyes! Streets are piled high with bodies, she said."

"Did she, now?" he murmured, Amy looking over at him and starting to smirk at the suspicious tone in his voice, knowing it meant an adventure on the horizon.

Rory reached over and snatched the paper from the Doctor as the official went off to question someone else, "According to this, I am your eunuch!" Rory called as Amy and the Doctor walked off.

"Oh, yeah, I'll explain later," Amy said before running after him, eager to see what was happening.

"What am I?" Angel asked as she looked at the paper over his shoulder.

"Can't you see it?" he frowned at her, not at all nasty, just curious.

"No," she shook her head, "The Doctor told me once that I was just too smart to be fooled by it. Psychic paper shows what the holder wants seen. I just think psychic cancels out psychic."

"You're really psychic then?" Rory looked at her.

"Something like that," she laughed, linking her arm in his.

"Oh, well, it say's you're the Viscoutness's handmaiden."

"Oh," she nodded, both a bit sad that she had been tasked as a 'handmaiden' and a bit ok with it as she really didn't want all the attention of being a noblewoman. She frowned a moment later though, using her other hand to tug at the hem of her bodice.

"You alright?" Rory asked, seeing a flash of discomfort on her face.

"Yeah, just the bodice is a little tight," she waved it off, "It was the only dress like it and I really wanted to wear it," she laughed, "Squeezed myself into it."

Rory nodded, Amy did much the same when she had a favorite piece of clothing, both of them walking at a leisurely pace behind Amy and the Doctor, when a thought struck him and he glanced at her a moment, "Did you want to be a Viscountess or something?" he asked, thinking of her expression when he'd told her she was a servant.

"Of course not," she laughed and he stared at her, startled, who would give up that opportunity? As though reading his mind she squeezed his arm, "Us servants must stick together after all."

He smiled at that, touched that she would rather be a servant with him than someone important with the Doctor and Amy, and nodded, "We do, yeah," he agreed with a little laugh, shaking his head at her a moment later.

Angel was something else.

She grinned widely, "Come on," and took his hand, picking up the edge of her skirt, making him laugh when he saw her cowboy boots peeking out the bottom, pulling him off down the passage as they ran along to catch up to the Doctor and Amy.

~8~

Two lines of young women, all wearing white gowns of varying designs, stood under a building's archway as an older woman walked ahead of them to lead their procession, "Veils down, girls," she called. The girls lowered their veils and followed her out, people watching them from the other side of the canal.

Angel stepped away from the small group of time travelers when she caught sight of them, walking over to the edge of the canal, watching them with a frown as the Doctor eyed her a moment before joining her, Amy and Rory with him, the three of them looking from her to the group, confused. But Angel just frowned, watching them...

'... _what do you suggest, then? We wait until they turn her into an animal?_...'

... _there was a hum of power as a chamber was bathed in a green light_...

'... _we're nothing alike. I will bend the heavens to save my race_...'

... _the townsfolk were screaming as they ran through pouring rain in chaos_...

"What do you want?" the woman shouted as Isabella's father ran forward.

"Where's my Isabella?" he lifted up the veils, trying to find her.

"What are you doing? Get away from there!"

"Isabella! Isabella!" he finally found her but she backed away from him, "It's me!"

One of the other girls came forward and hissed at him, baring two fangs that the Time Lords could see even across the way, shoving him to the ground.

"Girls, come along!" the woman clapped.

The girls continued on their procession, when a booted foot landed on the man's chest, keeping him down, "She's gone," Francesco told him, leaving with a swirl of his cloak.

"Isabella!" he got to his feet, "It's me!" but two guards just grabbed him and led him away.

"What was _that_ about?" Amy asked out loud, not noticing Angel and the Doctor leave.

"Isabella..."

She looked to her left to see them gone, "I hate it when they do that!" she huffed at Rory who frowned, looking around himself for them.

He got the impression that Angel rarely ever abandoned or forgot anyone, leaving them alone, so...for her to disappear as well, something really bad had to be happening, that or there was something dangerous going on that she was trying to protect them from.

~8~

Isabella's father walked along a passageway, tense and grumbling, as Angel led the Doctor after him. The Doctor crossed behind him and leapt onto the bottom step of a stairway, "Who were those girls?"

The man stopped and turned to them, "I thought everyone knew about the Calvierri school."

"Our first day here," he stepped down, "Parents do all sorts of things to get their children into good schools. They move house, they change religion," he looked around and whispered, "So, why are you trying to get her out?"

"Something happens to them," Angel murmured, frowning at the man, "Doesn't it?" Something bad?"

The man sighed and nodded, "Something magical, something evil. My own _daughter_ didn't recognize me. And the girl who pushed me away, her face...like an _animal_."

Angel quickly put an arm around the shoulders of the distraught man, "It'll be alright."

The Doctor nodded a bit, turning to lead them off, "I think it's time I met this Signora Calvierri."

~8~

The Signora was kneeling in the center of the courtyard of her school, drinking from a chalice poured by a servant.

"Mother?" Francesco called, spotting her from a staircase.

"Mummy's hydrating, Francesco," she called as the servant refilled the chalice with water.

Francesco walked down the stairs to the courtyard, "And we never interrupt mummy when she's hydrating. We were accosted again," the Signora leaned back against the well the water had been drawn from as Francesco moved to lay down, his head on her lap, "A man made a grab for one of the girls. The longer we wait, the greater the risk of discovery. I mean, we've already converted more than enough. Surely it is time to introduce them to my brothers?"

" _I_ shall decide when we have enough," she stroked his head.

"If it's more you want, let me take the girls into the city tonight. We could…"

"We follow the plan. Let them hammer on our door... _beg_ to be taken."

A bell tolled and Francesco stood abruptly, the servant helping the Signora stand. With a look at Francesco the Signora and servant left.

~8~

Amy and Rory were walking through a narrow passage, aimlessly looking for the Doctor and Angel, not that they really knew where either were.

"And what have you been doing?" Rory asked, if just for something to say. They'd fallen into a bit of a silence as they walked, Amy seemed...a bit too keen to find the Time Lords. He was too, he hoped Angel was ok, but...they'd come there for a trip, for a date, it had been the Time Lords' intention for them to have fun, perhaps that was another reason why the two had run off, leaving them alone, so that they would be able to have a proper date without worrying too much.

"Well...running," Amy supplied, "And fighting. I've been scared. More scared than I thought was..."

Rory looked at her a moment, "...did you miss me?"

"I..." Amy began, "I knew I'd be coming back."

Rory nodded solemnly to himself, feeling like he should have expected this, expected that she hadn't even noticed he wasn't there. He'd been right beside her during the entire Zero incident, standing right there when Amy had introduced him...as a friend. When he'd been her boyfriend at the time. They'd run through a hospital, and she'd called the Doctor for help instead of him. When that had been the one place he probably knew better than anyone. He'd been right beside her when she'd collapsed, been talking to her along with the Doctor...and she'd dreamed of the Doctor instead of him. He wasn't stupid, he wasn't an idiot, he knew Amy likely felt something for the Time Lord, and the fact that she'd tried to kiss the man, it bothered him deeply.

And now, to hear that he hadn't even really been a thought during the adventures, it hurt.

"He was right," he muttered, "It blots out everything else."

So how did Angel do it? She had spent more time with the Time Lord than probably anyone, been in the middle of all those dangers...and she STILL managed to worry about other people and think of them first. Or at least she had during Zero anyway.

Why was it that the Time Lady seemed to think on him and notice him more than his fiancé?

"Rory...this is our date," Amy turned to take his arm, "Let's not do this, not now."

There was a fluttering of wings and Rory looked up, smiling as he remembered just where they were, "Ha! We are in Venice and it's 1580!"

Amy laughed, "I know!"

They both laughed and walked off, arm-in-arm, passing a stairway where Francesco was lounging at the top.

A young flower-seller walked by and saw him, holding up a small poesy, "Flowers, signor?"

He shook his head and she moved on. A moment later, though, he walked down the steps and under the archway where the flower-seller was resting. She held out a bunch of flowers again, thinking he had changed his mind, and he took them in his gloved hand, smirking at her.

~8~

Amy posed in front of a doorway as Rory knelt to take her photo with his mobile, grinning, she really was so beautiful...

...when there was a scream.

Amy immediately ran forward, following the sound.

"What was that?" Rory called, running after her, worried, thinking she was just a little mad for running _towards_ the screaming and the danger on her own, barely even waiting for him to join her and try to help her.

They stopped short at the passage, seeing Francesco hovering over the girl. He lifted his head, blood on the girl's neck, his mouth open, baring fangs at them. He dropped the girls and walked past them with a hiss, holding his cape in front of his face as though to protect himself from the sun.

Rory ran to the girl's side, checking her vitals, breathing a sigh of relief, "She'll be ok," he looked up at Amy, only to see her running off, "Where are you...Amy! Come back!"

For one brief moment, his mind flashed to what had happened to her. She seemed...different, than she'd been. Here they were, confronted with a terrible crime...he had run to the victim, worrying about the one who'd been attacked...and Amy...had barely even stopped to check on her before chasing after the man who'd harmed her. He was torn between admiring her not wanting the man to get away and feeling a bit...upset...that she didn't seem to care whether the girl was ok or that the man had put her in this condition and she was running after him, alone.

Amy just ignored him as she ran after Francesco, only to stop abruptly at the end of a canal where he was nowhere to be seen, Rory just managing to catch up to her there.

~8~

Isabella's father approached the guards stationed outside the Calvierri school, "You have my daughter. Isabella!"

"You're _not_ coming in, stop there!" a guard called, "We've told you..."

He glanced to the side, seeing the Doctor and Angel sneak alongside the canal as he distracted the guards, "You have my daughter. Isabella! I demand you let me see my daughter!" the Doctor flashed his sonic on the canal gate, "Isabella! It's me! It's your father."

"I'll arrest you..." a guard warned.

"Isabella!" he yelled before seeing the Doctor and Angel inside, behind the guards, and turned to leave.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel made their way down some stone steps, into a chamber below the school. On the wall was a mirror which the Doctor stepped over to, "Hello, handsome," he greeted, straightening his tie and checking his teeth.

"Doctor…" Angel breathed, not looking at him and he tensed, hearing a tremor of worry in her voice.

"Who are you?" a chorus of girls asked.

The Doctor spun around to see a line of girls in white dressing gowns standing there. He looked back at the mirror, where they were invisible, and back to them, "How are you doing that? I...am...loving it," he grinned, though his actions betrayed him as he seemed to take a small step in front of Angel, as though to protect her from the clearly unnatural girls, "You're like Houdini, only five scary girls, only he was shorter."

" _Will be_ shorter," Angel corrected lightly from halfway behind him, tenses were tricky with time travel.

"I'm rambling," he turned to her and then back to the girls, "Do I sound like I'm rambling? I feel like I'm rambling."

"I'll ask you again, signor," the girls spoke, "Who are you?"

"Why don't you check THIS out?" he held out his wallet with an ID card of his first incarnation. He glanced at it, "Library card…" he muttered, putting it away, "Of course, it's with...he's...I need the spare. Pale, creepy girls who don't like sunlight and can't be seen in..." he looked back at the mirror and then at Angel, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" and then back at the girls, not giving her a chance to answer, "But the city. Why shut down the city? Unless..."

"Leave now, signor, or we shall call for the steward...if you are lucky."

"Oh!"

The girls hissed and bared their fangs, advancing on them.

Angel grabbed his arm and turned, pulled him towards the doorway, grabbing the bottom of her skirt to keep from tripping on it as she tried to pull him up the stairs.

He spun around, "Tell me the whole plan," and got nothing in reply, "One day that might work."

"That will _never_ work," Angel told him, she didn't even need her abilities to know that it wouldn't ever work.

"Listen," he turned to the women, "We would love to stay here. This whole thing...I'm thrilled. Oh, this is Christmas!"

Angel rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm, pulling him up the stairs as the girls hissed after them.

They ran out of the school and towards the streets, running straight into Amy on the edge of the canal across from the school, "Doctor!" Amy gasped, "Angel!"

"We just met some vampires!" the Doctor cheered at the same time as Amy said, "We just saw a vampire!" they both started talking at once, their voices overlapping.

"And creepy girls and everything…"

"Vampires!"

The Doctor and Amy jumped up and down excitedly while Angel shook her head at them, when Rory ran up.

"Rory!" Angel cheered, rushing over and hugging him tightly, startling the boy a moment at the sudden move though he automatically hugged back, feeling a bit…relieved that someone had hugged him after that experience, it was…really, it was _just_ what he needed.

Angel pulled back, "Are you ok?" she asked him, looking him over to see if he'd been hurt.

Rory smiled, "I'm fine," he laughed, touched that she was worried about him, the Doctor and Amy had seemed a bit too excited just then to notice him…though, now that he thought about it, they'd gone a bit silent.

He looked over to see the two had, indeed, fallen quiet as they looked at the two of them. Amy had crossed her arms, something he knew she did when she was slightly irritated with something, he was sure it likely had something to do with Angel, though that made no sense to him. But he knew Amy, she would sometimes get like that when other girls spoke to him, which...he never really understood. She was short with so many women, girls from his classes or the hospital or even waitresses who talked to him instead of just taking his order when they went to eat. Yet she could talk to all sorts of men and continue her kiss-o-graming and he wasn't allowed to speak of it without her claiming he was being clingy and ridiculous.

Oddly enough...he found that he almost...didn't care if Amy was irritated with the situation at the moment. She'd run off with the Doctor on the night before their wedding and kissed the man! He could hug Angel in a completely platonic way if he wanted, he could be friendly with her if she was trying to be more than friendly with the Doctor. He would never ever go so far as to lead another girl on and, to be honest, he didn't feel that way about any girl but Amy, so there was no way he'd ever try to 'get back at her' for all she did with the Doctor by doing something similar. But Angel was nice and kind and he did like her as a person, because...she treated him like a person too. She didn't just cast him off or let him get blotted out by the Doctor. If he wanted to hug her, he'd hug her, and if Amy had an issue with it...well...she shouldn't have kissed the Doctor.

The Doctor though...his expression was rather...different than he was expecting. He thought the man would just be grinning away like an idiot, still just rambling about whatever it was that had gotten him excited as well, but...the man actually seemed...angry. Well, not angry, but...cross, a little bit cross, with the hug he'd just given Angel. He was frowning and his eyes were just a little narrow and his hands were...starting to clench into fists...which confused him. Amy had been rather insistent that the Doctor and Angel were NOT together, especially when Mels pestered her with questions about it. There was really no reason for the man to be upset with a little hug. Angel gave the best hugs he'd ever gotten, it was only fair to hug her back with equally as good hugs.

"Good," Angel smiled, not seeming to notice Amy or the Doctor's reactions. It had been nice...to hug someone and have them hug her back though. She was...afraid to hug the Doctor, afraid of how much it would hurt if he didn't hug back or pushed her away and Amy...after learning about the kiss she just...couldn't really bring herself to hug the girl, it still hurt to think on what she'd done and how it affected all of them. But Rory, he gave very nice hugs, she'd thought he might be a hugger and he was. Everyone always underestimated just how much a hug could help.

"We think we just saw a vampire though," he added, eyeing Amy and the Doctor oddly when their expressions changed as Angel turned to them, as though neither of them wanted her to see their looks.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," the Doctor said, a bit of a deeper tone to his voice, "Amy was just telling us."

"Yeah!" Amy grinned, reminded of the adventure, putting her arm on the Doctor's shoulder, "The Doctor and Angel actually went to their house!"

"Oh," Rory nodded, absently resting a hand on the small of Angel's back, not quite around her, but a friendly gesture, not quite as...comfortable as Amy was with the Doctor...though he did notice the Doctor tense a bit at Amy's slightly forward move, but still allowing him to be close to Angel, which, to be honest, he really did need because it was all very new to him, "Right. Well..."

"Was it a girl as well?" Angel asked him, seeing him growing a bit sad and shifting at his own news was being pushed to the side.

"No," he shook his head, turning to her, smiling at her attempt to include him, "A bloke."

"Ok, so..." the Doctor stepped forward, slapping Rory's cheeks a bit, "First we need to get back in there somehow."

"What?!" Rory stared at him.

"How do we do that?" Amy frowned.

"Back in where?!"

"Come and meet our new friend," the Doctor grinned, spinning around and rushing off, Amy after him as Rory gave Angel a look.

She sighed, "He does that a lot," she murmured, linking her arm with Rory's and leading him after them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added almost 5000(!) words to this chapter! ^-^ I just love Rory so much and getting into all their heads with all their crazy feelings and confusion on everything :) Did you like the tiny little jealous moments both for Amy and the Doctor? So much confliction! Lol :) I hope you all liked the start of Rory, I added a bit of back story to Rory. I feel like with Amy telling so many stories about the Doctor as a child, Rory would be the sort to ask about 'the other one' and want to know more about Angel. I can't see him obsessing over her like Amy (to me) did the Doctor, but he'd know of her which adds a little to their closeness :)
> 
> Definitely only friendship for them :) And Angel got a few hugs! How many of you wanted Rory to just give her a big old hug? I know I did :)


	19. The Vampires of Venice: The Sunlight

After the Doctor and Angel had introduced Amy and Rory to Isabella's father, Guido, the man set down a map of Venice on his table while they sat around in his home that night. The Doctor and Amy were standing at the table, looking it over with Guido, as Rory sat on some barrels off to the side, Angel beside him.

"As you saw, there's no clear way in," Guido gestured at the map, "The House of Calvierri is like a fortress. But there's a tunnel underneath it, with a ladder and shaft that leads up into the house. I tried to get in once myself, but I hit a trapdoor."

"You need someone on the inside," Amy started to smile, feeling the usual excitement thrumming through her.

"No," Angel called from her place beside Rory.

"You don't even know what I was going to say," Amy frowned.

Angel blinked, "Really?" she pointed to herself, "Psychic," she reminded the woman, before sighing, "You were going to say, 'Why don't we pretend I'm an applicant for the school to get me inside and tonight I can come down and open the trapdoor to let you in.'"

"Oh," Amy gave a small chuckle, Angel was usually so quiet she sometimes forgot the girl really was psychic, that was exactly what she was going to say, word for word really, "So you do know what I was going to say..."

"Are you insane?" Rory gaped at Amy, completely alarmed that she would even consider doing that! They'd just been told that something terrible happened in that school, that the girls were being turned into vampires or something, and she wanted to go waltzing in there? Thank God Angel had said no. He'd seen it, the Doctor had been about to say yes, he'd seen the man starting to nod along, till Angel called out no, and then the Doctor started to shake his head in agreement with her that Amy should NOT go in there.

"We don't have another option," Amy turned to him.

"Angel said no, Amy," Rory said firmly, "Listen to her. She's psychic, if she said no then there's probably a damn good reason why!"

Was this always how it was with them? He had to wonder. He'd had it done to him plenty of times in the past, he'd say something and be ignored in favor of what seemed like 'fun.' Especially when it came to Mels. 'Mels don't punch that teacher.' 'Mels don't take that laptop.' 'Mels don't steal a bus.' And did she listen to him? Nope, never. And _every time_ she got into trouble for it. He always felt like he had to look out for her, she got in trouble so much, and she was Amy's friend, but she never ever listened. He could understand it though, he wasn't all that impressive or intimidating or gave the air of someone who knew what they were talking about. But Angel? She was _psychic_! She was a Time Lady! She was trying to protect Amy and Amy was ignoring her.

He'd noticed that the Doctor had seemed to ignore her a bit during Zero as well, less so now though...

Actually...it seemed like the Doctor was noticing Angel quite a bit more now really. He seemed especially noticing when she spoke with HIM, which was odd. Why would the Doctor have an issue with that? But still, even with the Doctor seeming to notice Angel more, he wondered if this was how it was with them? Angel told them not to do something and they did it anyway? Why would they ignore her? She was remarkable. She deserved to be listened to. And it...it _bothered_ him, rubbed him the wrong way, to see her being cast aside like he so often was. He could understand when it happened to _him_ , but not Angel. And he wasn't going to let that happen. Nope, he'd dealt with it enough at himself, he wouldn't let it happen to others. He was sort of like Angel in that way, they both tried to include other people and not leave them feeling left out or ignored.

"There _is_ another option," Guido pointed at Rory and Angel, "I work at the Arsenal. We build the warships for the navy."

The Doctor walked beside them, sniffing the barrels, "Gunpowder," he put a hand on Rory's shoulder, "Most people just nick stationery from where they work."

Rory slowly moved off the barrel and backed away, almost right into a dead rabbit when Angel reached out from where she was still sitting on the right side of the barrels and grabbed his hand, pulling him forward a bit with a nod behind him. He looked back and stepped closer to Angel, standing between it and the barrels, nodding at her in thanks for keeping him from walking into it.

"Look, I have a thing about guns and huge quantities of explosive."

"What do you suggest, then?" Guido demanded, "We wait until they turn her into an animal?!" he spun around and grabbed a fire poker, shoving bits of wood around in the fireplace, an air of anger about him.

"I'll be there three, four hours tops," Amy remarked.

The Doctor had to smile, nodding his head in amusement, Amy was rather adventurous, but still, "No, no, no, no, no, no. Angel's right, it's a bad idea. It can't keep happening like this. This is how they go," he sat on Guido's bed and put his head in his hands, Angel biting her lip to keep from moving beside him and trying to comfort him, not sure how he'd react to that and not wanting to be pushed away for it, before taking a breath and sitting back, "But I have to know," he looked at Angel apologetically, before turning to Amy, "We go together. Say you're my daughter."

"What?!" Rory gaped, spinning to Amy, "Don't listen to him!"

But Amy just scoffed, "Your _daughter_? You look about nine."

"Brother, then," the Doctor shrugged.

"Too weird," she shook her head before grinning, " _Fiancé_."

"Which is _Rory_ ," Angel reminded her gently.

She couldn't help but frown at that, could Amy really _not_ see how much Rory loved her? After everything she'd been through since the Doctor regenerated, she'd give _anything_ for the Time Lord to look at her the way Rory did Amy. The boy was so sweet, and he didn't deserve to have to be confronted with his fiancé openly flirting with another man and claiming said man to be her fiancé. It almost sounded like she wished the Doctor was her fiancé instead and she could see the hurt in Rory's eyes at the remark. She'd had to say something...in fact, she was rather sure she'd have to have some words with Amy later about all this.

Rory nodded, thanking her for that reminder, "I'm _not_ having him run around telling people he's your fiancé."

"No," Amy agreed, with a small frown, realizing how that had come across, "No, you're right."

"Thank you."

"I mean, they've already seen the Doctor. You should do it."

"Me?"

"Him?" the Doctor's eyes widened a bit, reluctant.

"He'll be just fine Doctor," Angel called, smiling encouragingly at Rory, "He can do it. I _know_ he can."

Rory wasn't sure whether to be pleased she had faith in him or alarmed that he was being set up to basically hand off his fiancé to a school of vampires.

"See!" Amy cheered, "You can be my brother," and noogied him.

"Why is _him_ being your brother weird, but with me, it's ok?" Rory tugged away with a frown, still hurt by her remark.

"Actually, I thought you WERE her fiancé," Guido commented to the Doctor.

"Yeah, that's not helping," the Doctor frowned.

"This whole thing is mental!" Rory cried.

"Yes it is," Angel agreed, before sighing, "Which means I'm gonna get dragged into it," she looked over at the Doctor, "I'll go with Amy," Amy opened her mouth to argue when Angel continued, still speaking to the Doctor, "I'll be able to sense the trouble before it happens, I can protect her in there while you three work out here. I'll go too, in fact..." she turned to Rory, who was still beside her, taking his hand and swinging his arm a bit, "Why don't we say you're MY brother and Amy's our cousin."

Rory blinked at her, "Your brother?"

"Yeah," she smiled, not seeing Amy and the Doctor start to frown at how she was getting that much closer to Rory, "I've already got two older ones, I've never had a younger brother before. It'll be fun!"

"You...want to be my older sister?" Rory stared at her still.

Most people didn't really want much to do with him, mostly because of his obvious love for Amy, they thought him a love-sick puppy most of the time. He had mates yeah, a few from University and the hospital, but he'd mostly hung around Amy and Mels, which hadn't done much for him where other boys were concerned. To them, he was just another girl he hung out with them so much. And here was Angel, probably one of the most remarkable aliens he'd ever met, wanting to claim she was related to him? _Him_?

"Sure," she nodded, squeezing his hand, "And we look more similar than you and Amy do," she added, there was more chance that two children would be born with brown and black hair than brown and red in a family, at least in her mind, and then there was Amy's obvious accent, which she could likely hide, but if she slipped for even a moment they'd know she wasn't related to Rory, "And it really _would_ be weird to go around calling her your sister wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, it would," he had to agree, before nodding, "Alright then, we'll be siblings," and then he blinked, actually feeling a flash of sibling protectiveness hit him, surprisingly sudden given that they'd just agreed to play siblings only moments ago, "Will you be ok with vampires around though?"

"We hope!" the Doctor called, pulling Rory and Angel's attention over to him, they'd both been having their own conversation as the others listened in, making plans and things without consulting the others...which, made _them_ wonder if that was how the two felt when they made plans and didn't usually include others in making them.

Amy seemed rather irritated that Rory was now so onboard because of Angel rather than because of her. SHE was his fiancé, she should be the one who knew how to get him to go along with what she wanted, not...not Angel. Even being psychic she should still have _some_ issues convincing the man. Unfortunately though, Amelia Pond had never had any siblings, she didn't know just how much sway a sister could have over her brother.

"We hope what?" Rory frowned, confused as to what the Doctor was going on about.

"We hope they're vampires," the Doctor shifted, feeling...uneasy about this.

He and Angel...they hadn't been separated throughout their adventures, not since the forest, but even then she'd had Amy and the Clerics and guns around her to keep her safe...now it would just be...Rory...and Amy. It would be her and Amy alone, trapped in a school he wouldn't be able to enter without their help or alerting the guards. And...vampires. He didn't like it, he didn't want them to go, what if something happened? What if they couldn't open the trapdoor? What if Angel got hurt? What if they were discovered?

"So if they're not vampires..." Amy began, looking at him, not having considered they might not be actual vampires.

"Makes you wonder what could be so bad it doesn't actually mind us thinking it's a vampire?" the Doctor asked, sighing as he rubbed his head, looking at Angel, he knew that determined look. She'd only offered to go to protect Amy.

Now he was regretting agreeing to let Amy go.

~8~

Amy stood beside Angel, who was to the left of Rory, the man petitioning to have the girl enrolled in the school. Rory had switched clothes with Guido, the man also bestowing some outfits from his daughter to Amy and Angel, mostly just simple brown skirts and plain white blouses. They had been concerned that the girls might recognize Angel, well, the Doctor had pointed it out really. But she'd reminded him that he'd stepped in front of her almost immediately so she hadn't been seen by the girls. The most they'd seen was a flash of blue and black as she had pulled him to the stairs, they wouldn't recognize her, she was sure. Which had left him quite pouty.

"So, basically, our parents," Rory gestured between him and Angel, "And our Aunt and Uncle," he nodded at Amy, "Are dead from getting the plague," he tried desperately not to stutter, to not mess it up.

He was beyond stressed and scared and trying his best to prove to the Doctor that he _could_ do it even though the man doubted him, he'd been quite...vocal in his doubts that Rory would be able to get through this little performance. Had tried to argue with Angel about the different ways it could go wrong with a human at the helm, but Angel had just told him to have a little faith. The Doctor still doubted him, hell he doubted him too, but…every time he glanced at Angel she always had a little smile and nod for him, encouraging him and…he really didn't want to let her down, she'd gone out on a limb trusting him with this, he'd do it, as best he could.

"I'm a gondola...driver and our other...uncle...hasn't managed to find employment...so...money's a bit tight...so having my sister and our cousin go to your school for special people would be brilliant. Cheers."

Francesco glanced at Amy and moved to stand in front of her, "Have we met?"

"I've just got one of those faces," Rory cut in, hoping the man wouldn't recognize them from that moment on the streets.

"I wasn't talking to _you_."

"She's got the same face...which is because she's my cousin! You know, family resemblance and all..."

The Signora turned to a man standing beside her throne-like chair, "Carlo, explain yourself. Why have you brought me this imbecile?"

"Signora, they have references from the King of Sweden," he stated.

"What?! Let me see," she held out her hand and Rory walked to the throne, handing over the psychic paper, Angel frowned, watching her closely, seeing something flash in the woman's eyes that made a pit form in her stomach, "Well, now I can see what got my steward so excited," she gave the paper back to Rory, "What say you, Francesco? Do you like them?"

Francesco finished circling Angel, who was doing her best not to breathe through her nose as she was getting a rather strong smell of...fish just then that was bothering her. Fish fingers and custard were delicious, but the actual smell of fish was making her sick...why did they smell so much like fish?!

The man just walked over to Amy, "Oh, I do, mother. I do."

"Then we would be delighted to accept them. Say goodbye to your family," she called to Rory.

Rory and Amy grabbed each other's hands just before Carlo led Rory away, "Tell Uncle...Doctor...we'll see you both pretty soon, ok?" Amy told him, "I'll be fine."

Behind Amy, Francesco bared his teeth, but Angel just pulled Amy closer to her, portraying family sticking together and nervous so as not to cause any more suspicion, Rory let out a breath of relief at that, having seen the fangs.

~8~

Carlo led Amy and Angel through the school as the girls watched Carlo head upstairs and down a hall, towards a room they would be sharing with other girls, "There are clothes on the bed," he told them, "Get changed and wait here."

Amy looked at the opulent, domed room, rather impressed with the sight, "Blimey. _This_ is private education, then?"

All the girls simply left with Carlo, all except one.

"Isabella," Angel whispered as she walked over to the dark-skinned girl, kneeling before her and taking her hands, startling her, "Are you alright?"

"How do you know my name?" Isabella looked up, frowning.

"I'm psychic," she smiled, "Angel, nice to meet you," she introduced, "And this is Amy, your father sent us to help."

"Listen, we're going to get you out of here," Amy promised, walking over, "But we need you to tell us what's going on. What is this place? What are they doing?"

"They, um...they come at night," Isabella said, "They gather around my bed and they take me to a room...with this green light and a chair with...with straps, as if for a surgeon."

Angel frowned, recognizing the room from her vision.

"What happens in there?" Amy asked.

"I wake up here. And the sunlight burns my skin like candle wax."

A bell tolled, pulling Angel's wary gaze away from the girl to look around, that pit growing larger in her stomach.

~8~

The Doctor and Rory sat back in a gondola as Guido, still in Rory's clothes, guided them down the canal, getting them closer and closer to the school's waterway entrance.

"She'll be fine," the Doctor whispered to Rory, seeing the boy tense and concerned, "Amy I mean," he added, incase Rory was thinking of Angel instead.

He frowned, why would Rory be worrying about Angel more so than Amy, the woman he was about to marry? He didn't know why he'd said that, possibly because he was worrying about Angel. And Amy. But, thinking of the school, the first one his mind went to was Angel. So, he supposed, it was natural for him to assume Rory might be thinking of Angel too. He was thinking of Amy along with Angel.

"You can promise me that, can you?" Rory muttered, clearly not believing him.

"Angel's there. And believe me, she's saved more people than I have. Most of them were ones I couldn't save. So yes, I can."

Rory though, despite what he was sure was the Doctor's attempt to reassure him, frowned. Why was it up to Angel to save everyone? Why did it seem like...she always had a hand in people being saved? And, while she was off saving all those people...who was saving her? Who was protecting her? Clearly it wasn't the Doctor, he'd _let_ her go in there.

That unsettled him.

Under the ploy they'd enacted, Angel was his sister. So, he supposed, it was his job to protect her from now on. He nodded to himself, Angel had kept him, and Amy, plenty safe, she deserved to be looked after and worried about a little. The Doctor, he wasn't sure if it was the man's confidence in Angel, or just a general...lack of regard for her wellbeing (he sincerely hoped it was the first because the Doctor didn't seem like the sort of man to not care about someone), but he should worry more for Angel. There was just...something...about her.

There was a sadness in her eyes that no one else seemed to notice.

~8~

Angel carried a small oil lamp as she and Amy, dressed in white gowns, made their way downstairs to try and find the room Isabella had told them about.

Amy stopped, hearing a moan and a cry of pain before taking off after it. Angel shook her head before running off after her, every time, ALL the Doctor's companions, always had to wander off didn't they?

"Amy!" she hissed as she ran after her, "Amy stop! Wait!" she reached out quickly as soon as she caught up to the girl and pulled her back, "Shh," she mouthed, hiding the oil lamp under a small bucket on the floor, putting them in darkness as two of the other girls walked past the end of the hall Amy had been about to rush around.

They waited a moment later, till the girls had passed, before Angel picked up the oil lamp again, "Thanks," Amy whispered.

"You really shouldn't wander off Amy," Angel told her, "It's one of the Doctor's most important rules."

"Oh please," Amy laughed, "The Doctor doesn't even listen to his own rules."

Angel had to nod, that was rather true, "But still, Amy please, be careful. I know how exciting it can be, how much fun it can be, but...you _can't_ get hurt," she reached out and touched Amy's arm, "Rory will be _devastated_ if anything happens to you here."

"He'll be fine," Amy tried to shrug it off, about to move on.

But Angel frowned and tugged her back by the arm she was still holding, "Amy..." she shook her head, "You shouldn't do that."

"Do what?" Amy stared at her, confused, and a bit...defensive as well, as though she knew exactly what she shouldn't do.

"Just...brush Rory's feelings aside like that," she explained, "He really _does_ love you and he's probably going mad with worry right now. You shouldn't make him worry any more by rushing off into things. He cares about you Amy, so much, I can see it," she whispered the last part, honestly a blind person would be able to see how much that boy loved her, "And this...can you imagine how it makes him feel?"

"How _what_ makes him feel?" Amy crossed her arms, now entirely defensive. She'd met Angel once, for a few hours as a child, then again, for a few hours, as an adult before travelling with her and the Doctor. In all that time Angel had spent, maybe, five minutes around Rory, she had _no right_ to tell her how to go about her relationship with her fiancé.

Angel just looked at her sadly, "You can't see it, can you?" she sighed. It would be that much harder to get through to Amy if the girl herself couldn't see how much Rory loved her, how far he'd go to make her happy and keep her safe.

"See what?!" Amy huffed.

"He loves you Amy," she told her, trying not to cry as she spoke about it, the love Rory had for Amy, it reminded her so much of (though it was not quite at the same level as) the Doctor's love for her, or the love he'd used to have for her, "More than anything."

"I know," Amy said firmly, of course she knew, they were getting married. You only got married if you really loved the other person.

Angel stared at her a moment, seeing that, even though Amy had said it, almost able to sense where her thoughts had gone in terms of marriage, that Amy hadn't quite grasped that two people made a marriage, not just the husband.

"Then you can't keep treating him like he doesn't mean anything to you."

"I do not treat him like that!" Amy stared at her, completely stunned she'd say such a thing to her.

"Amy you ran off on the night before your wedding, with a strange man," Angel continued gently, not willing to back down about this, not about Rory, she had suffered with broken hearts, she would NOT let Rory's heart break any more than it already was, "A man you didn't know. You didn't even tell us you were getting married till you nearly died. If you had died Amy, can you imagine what would happen to Rory? We wouldn't have known to tell him, he'd be standing at the altar, thinking you'd run, thinking you don't love him. And if we _had_ known to tell, him, he'd be crushed that he hadn't been there to protect you, because you didn't _want_ him there. And then you tried to kiss the Doctor, you tried to seduce him, Amy...you had a _fiancé_ , you were getting married and you were willing to throw that all away. For what? A man you could never ever be with? You would give up Rory for something that could never happen?"

Amy blinked a bit, starting to grow more concerned for Angel the longer the girl spoke. This was the longest she'd ever heard Angel speak. This was the most passionate she'd ever seen Angel grow. And...this was the first time she was actually seeing Angel start to cry. Sure, she'd seen hints of it and glimpses...but Angel was legitimately starting to cry over this. Something about it all was really getting to her, "Angel..."

"Amy I _lost_ the man I love," Angel cut in, her hearts breaking to have to talk like that, like the person she loved was in the past tense, when he was very much in the present. But, in a way, the man she loved was lost, he was in the past. She did love the man he was in the present, but the man who loved her back only seemed to exist in the past, "I lost a man who...loved me more than anything, who would have done _anything_ to protect me and keep me safe and see me happy. A man who was so...wonderful," tears started spilling from Angel's eyes at that, "And he loved me. He really did. He risked so much for me, he endured so much for me, and he gave up so much...for _me_. I was his world Amy, like he was mine...and he's _gone_. I might never get him back."

And that, THAT killed her to admit, because for all her abilities she couldn't see far enough ahead to a time where the Doctor might remember her, she truly _didn't_ know if he would.

"I'm sorry," Amy whispered, her heart breaking for the clear pain Angel was in. It was...startling, how well she hid it at times if she felt like this all the time. She hadn't even noticed how much the girl was hurting.

"I would give anything Amy," Angel took a deep breath, trying to calm down, needing Amy to _listen_ and to understand and not just focus on how she was crying, " _Anything_ , to have him back. I would give anything to have him look at me just _once more_ with that sparkle in his eyes. To hear him say he loves me," she let out a small laugh, "I'd even say yes if he asked me to marry him again," who would have thought that would ever happen, she must miss him more than she thought, "And Amy..." she looked at her, her tears subsiding though her eyes were watery, "You _have_ that. All of it. In Rory," she quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve, taking a breath, "Don't take it for granted."

Amy opened her mouth, about to speak though she didn't have a clue what she could say to that, when the bell tolled again.

Angel sighed, shaking her head, disappointed in herself that she'd let herself get so distracted, "We need to hurry," she murmured, turning to lead the way back down the hall they'd come from, Amy pausing a moment to watch her go before following, Angel's words ringing through her head.

~8~

"We're here," Guido said as the gondola pulled up to an underground port. The Doctor grabbed a lit torch and opened the creaking gate, Rory following him while Guido moved the gondola away to wait for them.

"Right," the Doctor murmured as they walked down a passage, "Ok, I'll go first. If anything happens to me, go back..."

"What happened?" Rory looked at him, "Between you and Amy? You said she kissed you."

The Doctor stopped by a wooden door, "NOW?! You want to do this NOW?!" he turned and walked up the wooden steps towards it.

"I have a right to know. I'm getting married in 430 years."

~8~

Amy walked up to a well in the center of the courtyard, Angel holding the lamp up for more light as Amy released the bar locking the gate.

"Amy, we need to leave, now," Angel whispered to her, sensing that their time was running out.

Amy nodded and turned to head back inside with her, when she heard something behind her. She turned and looked over, going to investigate...only to walk right into Carlo. She shrieked as he grabbed her, Angel about to run to her when Francesco grabbed her as well, dragging them off.

~8~

The Doctor and Rory quickly made their way down a narrow passage, the only light coming from the Doctor's torch, "She was frightened, I was frightened, but we survived, and the relief of it...and so she kissed me."

"And you kissed her back?"

"No. I kissed her mouth."

"Funny."

"Rory..." he stopped, "Rory, she kissed me because I was _there_. It would have been you," he patted him on the shoulder, "It SHOULD have been you."

"Yeah."

"Exactly. That's why I brought you here," well, that and Angel seemed to have enjoyed his company last time, "And besides, it…it just felt…wrong…to me. Kissing Amy," he shook his head, it really and truly had, it...almost _hurt_ to kiss her, like he physically couldn't stand the fact that she'd kissed him, everything inside him had screamed at him to push her away, to _never ever_ let it happen again, that it was just...so wrong, "It felt _wrong_ ," he whispered to himself.

They were silent, when a strong gust of wind blew out the torch, leaving them in the dark.

"Can we go and see the vampires now, please?" the Doctor asked.

~8~

Amy gasped as Carlo shoved her down a set of stairs and into what seemed to be the room Isabella had mentioned, "Control yourself, child!" Carlo growled as Francesco pulled Angel along, the Time Lady more focused on trying not to gag due to the truly wretched smell of fish lingering on Francesco than in trying to bring up the Vortex to save them.

"Get your hands off me!" Amy twisted, seeing that the Signora and the girls were already in the chamber.

"Psychic paper," the Signora remarked, "Did you _really_ think that would work on _me_?"

There was a hum for a moment before green lights switched on.

~8~

The Doctor pushed the grate at the top of a well aside and quickly scrambled out, using poor Rory as a ladder, "Push..." he managed to get out and reached in, pulling Rory out too, "Come on. There we are," he whispered quietly, "Amy! Angel! Where're they? I can't see a thing."

"Just as well I brought this, then," Rory pulled out a small penlight.

The Doctor just pulled out a larger torch from under his jacket, "Ultraviolet. Portable sunlight."

"Yours is bigger than mine."

"Let's not go there."

~8~

The Signora slowly made her way around Amy and Angel as Carlo and Francesco held the girls back, as though a hunter observing her prey, "Where are you from?" she asked them, "Did you fall through the chasm?"

"Mother this is pointless," Francesco replied, "Let's just start the process."

"Hold your tongue, Francesco! I need to know what this girl is doing in a world of savages with psychic paper," she eyed Angel, she could already tell the ginger one was human, she could practically _smell_ it on her, the perfectly ordinary human blood, but this one…she was _special_. Two girls carried a wooden chair with straps dangling off it into the room, "Who are you with? I scarcely believe your idiot brother sent you," Angel was silent though, watching as one of the girls attached a hook on an eye socket above the chair, "What are you doing in MY school?" the woman demanded as another girl dangled an IV bag off the hook.

"Why would I tell you?" Angel returned her gaze to the woman, "You're hardly being polite. You didn't even say please."

The Signora laughed at how absurd it was that SHE should be expected to do so, "Put her in the chair," Francesco pushed her forward and into the chair, the girls strapping her down as Carlo pulled Amy back and tied her to a set of manacles tied around a pillar.

"No!" Angel struggled, actually starting to feel a bit alarmed, "Let me go!"

"Oh, make sport of me, will you?" she sneered, "Tease me as if I were your dog? Well, this dog has a bite, girl," she bared her fangs.

~8~

"If we cancel now, we lose the deposit on the village hall, the salsa band..." Rory mumbled, glancing over as the Doctor opened a chest on the ground to reveal skeletal remains, "What happened to them?"

"They've had all the moisture taken out of them," the Doctor scanned them quickly.

~8~

The Signora hissed at her as Angel glared right back, a protectiveness flaring in her that reminded her of the Clerics in the forest...only with an anger she hadn't felt before rising with it, "Get _back_ ," she threatened.

~8~

"That's what vampires do, right?" Rory grimaced at the bodies, "They drink your blood and replace it with their own."

"Yeah, except they haven't just had their blood taken," the Doctor countered, "But all the water in their bodies."

"Why did they die? Why aren't they like the girls in the school?"

"Maybe not everyone survives the process."

Rory walked away in frustration before stopping to point at the Doctor, "You know what's dangerous about you? It's not that you make people take risks. It's that you make them want to _impress_ you. You make it so they don't want to let you down. You have _no idea_ how dangerous you make people to themselves when you're around."

He glared at the Doctor for good measure, why couldn't the man be like Angel? Already he'd seen her express actual _concern_ for HIS wellbeing and not just Amy's. He'd seen her watch out for him, for them. Yes, he already felt like he didn't want to let HER down but she…she didn't make him feel like he NEEDED to impress her because it felt like she was _already_ impressed by him simply being him. She nudged him and had faith in him for whatever reason he couldn't begin to fathom, but…she made him feel like he could do better, that he could _be_ better, gave him the courage to try it for himself, to do things for himself.

The Doctor, he just made people want to impress him. He made them want to show off and earn praise from him for their daring deeds. Angel just...praised you for doing the simplest things. Angel didn't need to be impressed, she worried for you when danger arose, she didn't expect others to go rushing into danger, nor would she want them to without her there to help them. That was the thing, the Doctor made people want to go off on their own and try to wow him, Angel made people feel safe and like they could do the things that scared them, because they _wouldn't_ be alone. She didn't expect you to be more than you were, she just...was there for you as you grew to be more than you were.

In just a few hours with the Time Lady, he'd...hugged her, even knowing it bothered Amy a little. He hadn't cared (...well he had, but he hadn't stopped), he'd done what _he_ wanted to do for once. He'd told Amy off, in his own small way, told her to listen to Angel instead of just nodding along. He'd stood before an alien vampire thing, despite being nervous, because...he knew he wasn't alone. And THAT was what, to him, made Angel more remarkable than the Doctor. She didn't let you go it alone, she was there for you when you really needed her, and she seemed to truly want the best for you.

"Who are you?" a chorus of female voices called behind them.

The Doctor spun around and held up the ultraviolet light to them as they got closer, holding them off, "We should run. Run!" they took off, followed by the girls.

~8~

"This is how it works," the Signora told Angel, "First, we drink you until you're dry. Then...we fill you with our blood. It rages through you like a fire, changing you until, one morning, you awake and your humanity is a dream...now faded. "

"Or you die," Francesco smirked, "That _can_ happen."

"What happens to the ones who survive?" Angel swallowed, feeling herself starting to pant, feeling an almost...need to get out, to free herself, hitting her, most likely left over from her time chained up with the Dalek.

"Then there are 10,000 husbands waiting for you in the water," the woman replied.

"I think you're wrong. I don't think I'll lose my humanity."

"And why's that?" the Signora leaned in, ready to bite her, ready to make her part of her collection.

"I'm not human," she clenched her hands into fists, the golden power of the Vortex surrounding her, "And I am NOT in the mood!" and with that, the Vortex crackled around her before exploding out of her, knocking all the aliens back.

The Signora fell to the ground on her side, on her hip, looking up at the girl, her eyes glowing golden, the golden wind swirling around her, when she felt a painful zing. She looked down at her hip and flung back part of her dress to see a device clipped there. Her image flickered to an insectoid creature with a fish's head before her human image returned.

"What _are_ you?" she gasped at the Time Lady, before her son helped her up and they fled the room.

Instantly the golden energy died down and the straps holding Angel to the chair burst open with a small spark of gold.

~8~

The Doctor and Rory ran along a corridor, stopping short as they ran into the Signora, Francesco, and Carlo, "Cab for Amy Pond and Angel?" the Doctor smiled.

~8~

Angel ran over to Amy's side just as Isabella burst into the room. She grabbed the manacles and the same small golden spark made them burst open, releasing her, "She almost bit you!" Amy gasped.

"Time to go!" Angel just grabbed her arm and pulled her out into the hallway, Isabella running after them.

~8~

The Doctor looked over as the school girls approached from the other end of the corridor, blocking their escape, "This rescue plan, not exactly watertight, is it?" the Signora smirked.

The Doctor brandished the UV light, holding the girls back, "Ha ha!"

Just then Amy, Angel, and Isabella ran into the corridor, "Rory!" Amy called.

"Amy!" he smiled, thrilled to see her and, "Angel!" he beamed, both of them ok.

"Quickly, through here!" Isabella ran back the way they came, the small group following her, the girls after them.

"Seal the house!" the Signora ordered.

~8~

"They're not vampires!" Amy told the Doctor as he soniced a door closed behind them, locking the others out.

"What?!" he gaped.

"I saw the real her," Angel told him, "She was a...insect thing, with a fish head, not a vampire."

He laughed at that, "Aliens. Classic!"

"That's GOOD news?!" Rory stared at him, "What is _wrong_ with you people?!"

The Doctor looked back as the aliens tried to break through the door and urged Rory on, into the passage after Isabella, "Come on, move!" the Doctor shouted as Francesco and the girls broke through, following after them with a torch. The Doctor waved the UV light like a weapon, causing the man to hesitate, "Keep moving! Come on, guys!"

Francesco merely sent the girls forward.

~8~

Isabella opened the doorway to a canal by the school, ushering the others forward and down the stairs where Guido was waiting, "Quickly," she called.

The Doctor ran on when, just as he passed, Angel pulled off his jacket, startling him into spinning around.

"Get out. Quick!" Isabella turned to follow but stopped, shielding her face as the sunlight hit her.

Angel turned and threw the Doctor's jacket over her head, quickly helping her down the stairs and out of reach of the girls who had _just_ reached the door, only to pull back from the sun as well. They ran down the rest of the way, the Doctor and Angel helping Isabella into the gondola as Guido quickly steered them away the moment they were all in.

"You are brilliant," the Doctor smiled at Angel, realizing what she'd just done as he glanced back at the girls in the doorway, hissing at them as they made their escape, and Isabella, hidden under his coat.

~8~

The Signora walked out onto a ledge of the canal, looking down into the water as it bubbled at her proximity, "Mother!" Francesco called, dashing out after her, "Change your form...or my brothers will think they are about to be fed."

The Signora just smiled down at the water, "Not long now. It's not long."

True, the appearance of those two girls and the escape of that other had put a bit of a fault in her plans, but her smile morphed into a smirk, it only meant that the plans had to be advanced. Oh yes, the girls were ready, but Venice, Venice would not be ready at all for what was coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww :) Do you like the little twist in the Rory/Angel dynamic :) I could so picture him as her younger brother of sorts, how he's so insecure and his older sister is there to protect him. It's such a change from Angel being the innocent one who needed Jack to protect her and be the big brother at first and now she's got a little brother too :) That will...play a VERY big role in Cold Blood and Torchwood as well :)
> 
> I hope you liked the Amy/Angel discussion about Rory. I hope everything made sense and was in character. I couldn't think of a better time for Angel and Amy to have that talk. Angel doesn't strike me as the sort to let others being put down fester but someone who will really do something about it as soon as she can. And, I like to think, her words might help Amy in Amy's Choice too :) I could see it really getting to her like...Amy has this incredible love and she's throwing it away, whereas Angel would give anything to have her love back :'(
> 
> And...Angel saved Isabella! Woo! I felt SO bad when she died, like Guido went through so much to get her back and he lost her :( Good thing there was a psychic around to help out this time ;) We also got to see a little bit of Angel's fury, not much, not a lot, but just...well, really more of a survival instinct I think :)


	20. The Vampires of Venice: The Storm

The Signora strode into the main chamber of her school, the throne room so to speak, only to find the Doctor sitting on the embellished chair with a woman she recognized as the alien applicant standing at his side, eyeing her warily, her nose crinkled as though smelling something that made her a bit ill.

The Doctor gave her a wolf whistle, "Long way from Saturnyne, aren't you...Sister of the Water?"

"No, let me guess," she glanced at him, smiling, impressed with what she saw, "The owner of the psychic paper. Then I take it you're a refugee, like me? The both of you?" for after that display of power earlier, the girl could be nothing but an alien as well.

"I'll make you a deal. An answer for an answer. You're using a perception filter. It doesn't change your features, but manipulates the brainwaves of the person looking at you. But seeing one of you for the first time in, say, a mirror, the brain doesn't know what to fill the gap with, so leaves it blank...hence no reflection."

"Your question?"

"Why can we see your big teeth?"

She gave a small laugh, "Self-preservation overrides the mirage. The subconscious perceives the threat and tries to alert the conscious brain," she glanced at Angel as she shifted, it seemed the perception filter wasn't quite working on her though, they had the ability to appear human for a time, much like the Krillitanes, a morphic illusion, the perception filter was more...a helpful trinket to keep others from looking too closely at them, seeing the small flaws in the plan, like their teeth or smell their scent.

"Why are you here?"

"My turn," she tsked him, "Where are you from?"

"Gallifrey," Angel stated.

The Signora's eyes widened at that, "You should be in a museum. Or in a mausoleum."

"Why are you here?" the Doctor repeated.

"We ran from the Silence. Why are _you_ here?"

"Wedding present. What..."

"Are the Silence?" Angel cut in, frowning, that name, that word...the Silence.

Zero had said it, said Silence would fall, and she couldn't help but feel uneasy about it. She was sure the Doctor had a better question coming, probably one that had to do with Venice or what the woman was planning, she'd probably just wasted his turn, but...she _had_ to know. Something was telling her it was important, it was really _very_ important that they find out about whatever it was.

"There were cracks," the Signora began, thinking on it, growing distant in her memories, "Some were tiny...some were as big as the sky. Through some we saw worlds and people and through others we saw Silence...and the end of all things. We fled to an ocean like ours and the crack snapped shut behind us...and Saturnyne was lost."

"So Earth is to become Saturnyne Mark II?" the Doctor frowned.

"And you can help me," she smiled, turning to him, "We can build a new society here, as others have. What do you say?"

"Hmm," he stood up and walked to face her, Angel stopping at the top of the steps that led to the throne to watch, "How do we reverse what you've done to Isabella?"

"Isabella?"

"The girl who saved us," Angel said, frowning at how little the Signora seemed to care for the girl, to not even recall her name. What importance were any of the other girls then? They had families and the Signora had taken them away, and she didn't even know their names?

Signora sighed, "Time. If she's not fully converted her body will replenish her blood over time. Such a waste," and then she looked at the Doctor, "I need an answer, Doctor. A partnership," she reached out a hand and began to trail her finger down the line of the Doctor's buttons, tapping each of them as she spoke her next words, "Any which way you choose."

The Doctor just grabbed her wrist, not tightly, but enough for her to stop, his skin feeling like it was litearlly crawling as she touched him, if kissing Amy had felt wrong...this was torture, something inside him twisted painfully at the thought of being touched so intimately by the woman, "I don't think that's such a good idea, do you?" he smirked, stepping right before her to speak quietly to her, nearly nose-to-nose with her, but with a dangerous note in his voice that spoke of how little he was considering her offer, "I'm a Time Lord. You're a big fish. Think of the children."

Angel stiffened behind him, unnoticed by both of them, her eyes a little wide as her mouth dropped open. Slowly she lifted a hand to rest on her stomach which had, admittedly, gotten just a _bit_ bigger the last few months…which did explain why her belt had been slightly tighter than she recalled...but...that was impossible. Wasn't it? She couldn't be. Could she? She shook her head, feeling a bit of Donna's humanity peeking through. No, no. No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. No. She wasn't. She would have sensed THAT. No, she was sure she wasn't.

...was she?

"Carlo!" Signora yelled, pulling Angel out of her frantic thoughts, "You're right. We're _nothing_ alike. I will bend the heavens to save my race, while YOU philosophize."

"This ends today," the Doctor promised, "I'll tear down the House of Calvierri, stone by stone," Carlo put a hand on his chest to get him to move, "Take your hands off me, Carlo, and don't even _think_ about touching Angel either," and with that, he turned and headed for the door, Angel quickly following. He stopped a moment and looked back at the Signora, "And you know why? You didn't know Isabella's name," he opened the door, "You didn't know Isabella's name."

"Open the gates!" Carlo ordered as the Doctor and Angel strode out and into the street.

The Doctor shook his head at that, disgusted by what the woman was doing to the innocent humans...when he noticed something, "You alright?" he asked Angel.

Angel looked at him sharply, seeming almost startled. She was pale and shaking and looked rather...frantic and upset. She swallowed, "Fine," she whispered.

He eyed her a moment longer before nodding and continuing on.

Angel hesitated just one moment before following. She was fine. She was. Yes. Fine. Nothing wrong. Nothing at all. Fine, just fine.

She let out a silent breath, God she really hoped she was fine.

~8~

"Attend!" the Signora called, "Attend!" Francesco, Carlo, the girls and the attendants came into the courtyard, "The storm is coming!" she started down the stairs when her perception filter faltered, sending a painful jolt of electricity into her, distracting her from maintaining the morphic illusion, allowing Carlo to see the real creature beneath her for a moment.

"Mummy...what's wrong with your perception filter?" Francesco asked.

"I must have damaged it when that idiot girl attacked me..." there was another glitch that made her flinch, "Now...assemble the girls. I have a job for them."

~8~

The Doctor stood before Isabella as she sat across from her father, beside Amy at the table of her home, a thin cloth was covering the windows to dim the room for her so the sunlight wouldn't irritate her skin more than it had. He soniced her, reading the scans to see that the Signora had been telling the truth, already Isabella's blood was replenishing itself and returning her to normal, "You'll be fine," he told her happily, "Give it a few weeks and your body will start to replenish itself with your blood and not theirs."

"You've got your daughter back," Angel smiled at Guido, who couldn't stop grinning as he reached across the table and took Isabella's hand, Angel placing her own hand on his arm as she sat at the end of the table.

"Now," the Doctor started to pace, "I need to think. Come on brain, think, think. Think!" he sat down at the other end of the table, across from Angel, "Think!"

"If they're fish people, it explains why they hate the sun," Amy remarked.

The Doctor put a hand over her mouth, Amy sitting to his right, "Stop talking, brain thinking. Hush."

"It's the school thing I don't understand," Rory said from his left.

The Doctor put his other hand over Rory's mouth, "Stop talking, brain thinking. Hush."

"You'd be surprised how easy it is for aliens to get to children when they're locked away in a school," Angel sighed sadly, thinking of Brother Lassa and the Krillitanes.

"I say we take the fight to them," Guido replied, pounding his fist on the table, now determined to fight and get the other girls back to their families.

"Ah-ah-ah!" the Doctor looked at him.

"What?" he frowned

The Doctor shot Angel a look, "Ah!" and nodded at Guido.

"No," she shook her head, "I'm not going to cover his mouth for you. That's rude."

The Doctor sighed and nudged Rory who put his hand over Guido's mouth and then he nodded at Amy who rolled her eyes and put her hand over Isabella's mouth just to be safe, "Her planet dies," he thought out loud, "So they flee through a crack in space and time, and end up here, then she closes off the city and, one by one, changes people into creatures like her to start a new gene pool. Got it. Then what? They come from the sea, they can't survive forever on land, so what's she going to do? Unless she's going to do something to the environment to make the city habitable...she said, 'I shall bend the heavens to save my race,'" he moved his hands from Amy and Rory's mouths to move their heads, making them nod, "Bend the heavens...bend...the heavens..."

"She wants to sink Venice," Angel blinked, her vision of that storm now making sense! Oh how had she not seen it sooner!?

"She's...she's going to sink Venice?" Guido asked, pulling Rory's hand away from his mouth as Isabella did the same with Amy.

"And repopulate it with the girls she's transformed," the Doctor nodded, smiling though, at Angel for working it out before him. She was so clever like that, saw little things he missed, made him realize little things that were important...

"You can't repopulate somewhere with just women," Rory countered, "You need...blokes."

"She's got blokes," Amy replied.

"Where?" the Doctor looked at her.

"In the canal."

"That's right," Angel recalled, "She said 'There are 10,000 husbands waiting in the water.'"

"Only the male offspring survived the journey here!" the Doctor realized, "She's got 10,000 children swimming in the canals, waiting for mum to make them some compatible girlfriends. Ew. I mean, I've been around a bit, but, really, that's...that's...ew," there was a loud clattering from the floor above them that cut him off, "The people upstairs are very noisy."

"There aren't any people upstairs," Isabella breathed, tensing, frightened as she worked out exactly what that noise was.

"I knew you were going to say that," the Doctor looked around, "Did anyone else know she was going to say that?"

Angel raised her hand.

"Anyone who isn't able to see the future know she was going to say that?"

Angel laughed a little and lowered her hand as the wood creaked again, like someone was walking across the floor.

Rory looked up, tensing, "Is it the vampires?"

"Like I said, they're not vampires. Fish from space."

There was a loud thump and breaking glass as the converted girls pushed the curtains aside, making Isabella flinch away, and tried to get in through the window and down the stairs. They all stood up quickly, startled, the Doctor brandishing the ultraviolet light as Guido tried to pull Isabella back and shield her from the sunlight, not about to lose his daughter again after having gotten her back.

"Aren't we on the second floor?"

The girls in the window reached through and the Doctor flashed the light to keep them back. Angel ran over, taking the light as the Doctor pulled out the sonic and flashed them, revealing them to be insect-like creatures with fish heads, just like the Signora.

"What's _happened_ to them?" Guido stared as he pulled Isabella closer.

"There's nothing left of them," the Doctor replied, "They've been fully converted. Blimey, fish from space have never been so...buxom. Ok..." he switched off the sonic and took the light from Angel, ushering her forward, ahead of him, "Move. Come on!" they ran down the stairs, Amy and Rory, then Guido and Isabella, and Angel and the Doctor, all of them heading for the door, Amy and Rory running out, disturbing the poor chickens, "Go, go, go, guys!" the Doctor urged as Guido pulled off a curtain from the window by the barrels of gunpowder and tossed it over Isabella to protect her as they ran out, knocking over a lit candle in the process, "Keep moving, go, go, go!"

"Run!" Angel shouted, before gasping and spinning around, looking at the door with horror in her eyes, "No..." she breathed.

"What are you doing?!" the Doctor ran back to her, his hearts hammering in his chest to see her standing there where the girls could get to her, and grabbing her arm, about to pull her.

"Duck!" Angel turned and quickly pulled him to the ground, moments before the barrels of gunpowder exploded, the candle that Guido had knocked over igniting them, taking the house and the girls with it, Angel looking back over her shoulder in terrible sadness that the girls had been trapped inside.

~8~

The Signora strode towards her throne, opening a device attached to the armrest, "Right, to begin, let's fill the sky with fire," and activated it. She looked out as smoke and vapor poured out from the bell tower of the school, blocking out the sky. Lighting streaked across it as the storm began, making her grin, "Yes!"

She sauntered over to a window, observing as the people on the streets began to worry and panic, "In sight of the Lord, protect and keep us!" a man shouted.

~8~

The small group of six looked over at the damage of Guido's house, "I am _so_ sorry," Angel turned to Guido, she hadn't sensed anything till a moment before it happened and she felt so terribly. Rory had been correct in that, as a gondola driver, in a world full of them, money was tight, and now Guido had lost his home. She should have sensed it or at least seen the candle stick fall over still lit and stopped it.

But the man just laughed, beaming really, "They're gone!" he cheered, hugging Isabella close, far too overjoyed that his daughter was alive and safe and with him again and wouldn't be hunted like an animal to be upset with a small building of wood. A house was just wood and stone, his daughter was his flesh and blood, infinitely more precious to him.

And then they heard the people clamoring in the streets, all of them realizing what that had to mean, "Rosanna's initiating the final phase," the Doctor said.

"We need to stop her," Amy decided, about to dash off, "Come on!"

"No, no. Get back to the TARDIS."

"You can't stop her on your own."

"We don't discuss this! I tell you to do something, Amy, and you do it. Huh?"

Amy glared at him and stormed off, "Thank you," Rory told him before going after Amy.

"Yeah...you're welcome," he sighed.

"Guido," Angel turned to the man, "You and Isabella try to get out of the city, or at the very least find somewhere to hide till we sort this out," Guido nodded and led Isabella away.

People started screaming as the Doctor and Angel turned and ran out onto the streets, looking around for which way to go, when Angel took off to the left, the Doctor following her.

~8~

Francesco opened the gates of the school and looked up at the darkening sky just as Amy and Rory stopped across the canal, looking up as well, "Oh, my God!" he heard Amy say and looked over, "What is going on?"

"The sky, it's like it's boiling," Rory commented.

He glared at the humans, knowing it was their fault his mummy kept getting hurt by the glitch in her filter and that their plans had to be accelerated, and removed his hat and cape before diving into the canal, following them along it as they rushed off.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel ran into the throne room, Angel going directly to the chair and feeling along it, knowing there was something more to it, as the Doctor soniced it. He grinned as he opened a panel behind the back cushion to reveal alien circuitry before sonicing that.

"You're too late," the Signora smirked, entering the room with a confident stride, clearly very pleased with what was happening outside, "Such determination...just to save one city. Hard to believe it's the same man that let an entire race turn to cinders and ash," her gaze flickered to Angel, recognizing her now that she knew where they were from, "And the woman who turned them to stone and drove another alien just looking for sustenance off the planet."

"Children are not sustenance," Angel frowned, shaking her head at the woman, "The Hydrians killed everything inside them," she closed her eyes, "Like you did to those girls."

That was the only way she could get through that, through the fact that she hadn't been quick enough to help save the girls from the explosion. There was nothing left of them, the Doctor had even said so. They weren't girls any longer, they were shells, filled with alien blood. She winced though, that was almost like the Dalek experimentations in New York, human shells with alien ideals. But...she supposed, there was a difference between full conversion, blood and DNA, and simply having your mind erased and filled with another purpose.

"Now you can watch as my people take their new kingdom," the Signora just continued.

"The girls have gone, Rosanna," the Doctor stated.

"You're lying," she spat.

"Shouldn't we be dead? Hmm?"

"Rosanna," Angel called as the woman turned to storm off, "Please, you can help us save 200,000 people!"

"So save them," she sneered and left.

The Doctor looked at the throne and then Angel before she sighed and grabbed his arm, leading him out of the room.

~8~

Amy and Rory made their way through the streets, only to find their path blocked by a wet Francesco. Rory quickly picked up some candlesticks and held them up to form a cross, "Amy, run!" he shouted but Francesco just swiped them away and moved towards Amy, "This way, you freak!" he called, trying to distract him, not wanting him to get closer to Amy, to hurt her, "Don't! This...this...this way, you big, stupid, great...SpongeBob! The only thing I've seen uglier than you is...your mum! No..."

Francesco turned around instantly, "Did you just say something about mummy?"

Rory picked up a broom and brandished it like as sword…and then Francesco pulled out a _real_ sword. He attacked Rory, who barely managed to block the blows with the handle of the broom, ducking back and jumping to the side to try and keep alive long enough to think of some way out of that...and finding himself wishing Angel or even the Doctor were there to help.

"Careful!" Amy shouted, "Hit him! This way, bring him this way! Rory!"

Francesco sliced the broom handle in two, leaving Rory defenseless. He thrust his sword through a hanging drape and Rory, thankfully, dodged out of the way. He wrapped Francesco in the drape and backed away, "Ew!" he grimaced, backing into the next courtyard, holding his arm under his nose, "You stink of fish," now he understood Angel's slightly displeased expression when they'd first entered the throne room to petition the Signora and her mild grimace when Francesco had been circling her.

"Well, I'm hardly going to smell of cheese and biscuits," the man countered, following. Rory tripped and fell backwards to the ground, hitting his head as Francesco leapt, changing form midair into his fish-like counterpart, to land on top of Rory.

"Hey!" Amy called from the stairs, "Mummy's boy," she held up a compact mirror to the sunlight, reflecting it onto Francesco till he exploded.

Rory coughed, wiping off the dust of the explosion, the...fish flakes...that were sprinkling down onto him, "Oh...oh..."

"That was lucky," Amy commented as Rory stood, "Why did you make the sign of the cross, you numpty?"

Rory rolled his eyes and walked up the stairs to Amy, "Oh, oh, right! I'm being reviewed now, am I?"

Amy just kissed him, rather passionately, "Now we go help the Doctor and Angel."

"Rightio," he agreed, just a bit dazed.

Amy smirked, she still had it, she still knew just how to get what she wanted. Let's see Angel try _that_! She blinked, no, no really let's NOT see Angel try to do that. No. She didn't want anyone to kiss Rory, no one but her.

~8~

Angel stopped on a balcony outside the school, looking down on the city below. The bell tolled and she looked up at it, frowning, feeling something stirring as she looked at the top of the bell tower, before nodding to the Doctor, "It's up there," she stated.

"Right," he sighed, quickly dashing back inside with her as they ran for the throne room.

~8~

Outside the school the townsfolk were screaming and running through the rain in chaos. Carlo approached the gate from the inside, dragging a bag of precious items he was stealing from the school, wanting to get out now that he knew what was really in store for everyone, "Open the gates!"

"It's the Almighty!" a man shouted, "Look at the sky!"

Amy and Rory ran through the streets, sneaking through the gate while Carlo picked up his bag. They ran into the school and headed for the throne room just as the Doctor and Angel entered from the main door to it, "Get out!" the Doctor yelled, running to the throne with Angel, "I need to stabilize the storm."

"We're not leaving you," Rory said.

"Right," the Doctor walked back to them, "So one minute it's, 'You make people a danger to themselves,' the next it's, 'We're not leaving you!' But if one of you gets squashed or blown up or eaten, who gets..."

He was cut off suddenly, by Angel half tackling him, half shoving him to the side as the ground shook, a large chunk of the ceiling falling where he'd just been standing, Amy and Rory knocked to the ground as well. He gasped, looking up to see Angel half on top of him and his breath caught in his throat as his eyes connected with hers, and...he was quite sure it wasn't because of her weight that he felt so breathless. She was...warm and...soft and...close...her hair had fallen out of its bun in all their running, the ends of it tickling the skin on his neck, making him tingle...

Angel blinked, frowning as she saw the Doctor just staring at her, "Are you ok?" she asked.

She knew he was, both a feeling and the Mating bonds telling her that, but...he was...acting rather odd at the moment. The storm was picking up, the ceiling was falling around them, the ground was shaking and the aliens were about to take over and he was just...looking at her.

"What?" he blinked, shaking his head, "What? Sorry, what?"

"Are you ok Doctor?" she repeated.

"Yes, yes fine," he nodded, glancing over at the large chunk of stone that would have crushed him, "Thanks."

She nodded and got up, blinking a bit as she got slightly lightheaded a moment, her adrenaline fading, before she held out a hand to help him up as well.

"What was that?" Rory gasped as he scrambled over to Amy, helping her up.

The Doctor looked over at them, wincing a moment, he'd actually forgotten they were there, "Nothing. Bit of an earthquake."

"An earthquake?" Amy asked.

"Manipulate the elements, it can trigger earthquakes. But don't worry about them."

"No?" Rory gave him a confused look.

"No. Worry about the tidal waves caused by the earthquake."

Angel shook her head at his lack of tact, "Everything will be ok Rory," she crossed her hearts, "We've honestly been through worse."

And they really had. Poisoned gas choking the Earth, the Earth stolen, the Master taking over, the Slitheen attacking, and so much more. If they could stop all that, they could stop this too.

The Doctor nodded and faced the throne, "Right," he spun to them, "Rosanna's throne is the control hub but she's locked the program, so tear out every single wire and circuit in the throne. Go crazy. Hit it with a stick, anything. But don't," he looked at Angel, pointing at her warningly, "Use the Vortex on it," she frowned, realizing he was basically telling her to stay with Rory and Amy and not go with him, "It might just end up super powering it," he added, interpreting her frown as one of confusion, before he turned and headed for the throne, checking the wires, leaving her no time to even argue that she wanted to go with him before he dashed out of the room, "We need it to shut down and reroute control to the secondary hub, which I'm guessing will also be the generator."

~8~

The Doctor ran up the stairs leading to the bell tower, holding his hands over his ears as he neared the tolling bells.

~8~

Amy, Rory, and Angel pulled all the wires they could out of the throne, causing it to spark.

~8~

The Doctor held the clapper on one of the bells, "Shut up! Shut up," it stilled and he jumped down, "That's better!" he tugged on one of the cables but it didn't budge, so he climbed up onto the rail, gripping the column as the rain poured down. He slipped but quickly regained his balance and began to climb up the outside of the tower.

~8~

Amy and Rory looked around the courtyard for the Doctor.

"There!" Angel shouted, pointing at him climbing the tower.

~8~

The Doctor climbed up to the top, using the cable, and reached a giant sphere at the pinnacle.

~8~

"Come on!" Rory murmured.

~8~

He paused, opening the sphere to reveal the device controlling the storm, examining it closely to find a way to stop it.

~8~

"Come on!" Amy breathed, "Come on!"

~8~

He flicked a simple toggle switch and the rain immediately stopped, the clouds clearing as the birds began to sing again.

~8~

Amy, Angel, and Rory looked around before laughing and hugging each other.

"I knew he'd do it!" Angel cheered, turning to hug Rory tightly.

~8~

The Doctor closed the sphere and looked down at the street with a little wave.

"You did it!" Rory shouted up to him, laughing, his arm absently winding around Angel's shoulders...which made the Doctor frown, able to see it even from up there.

~8~

The Signora walked down a small dock of the canal to the water's edge, tying to turn off her filter but the device died, leaving her stuck looking like a human. She pulled off her gloves and stripped down to her underdress. The water started to bubble the closer she got to the edge, the aliens within it seeing only a human and not their mother.

"Rosanna stop!" Angel called as she and the Doctor ran out to find her, Angel leading the way, having sensed what the woman was about to do and wanting to stop her. They could both empathize with her, with the loss one felt in losing their race, in being left alone, in thinking one was alone, "Please wait!"

"One city to save an entire species," she remarked, her voice hollow, hopeless, "Was that so much to ask?"

The Doctor motioned for Angel to stay back as he slowly approached the fish-woman, unsure of how stable she'd be to find out all she'd lost and not wanting Angel to get hurt should the woman lash out at them, "I told you, you can't go back and change time. You mourn but you live. I know, Rosanna, I did it. We both did," he gestured back at Angel.

"Tell me, Doctor..." the Signora turned to look back at him, "Can your conscience carry the weight of another dead race? Remember us. Dream of us," and with that, she fell into the water.

"No..." Angel tried to rush forward to stop her, but she was too late, the Doctor spun around and grabbed her before she could get past him, holding her back as they both looked down into the water as the bubbling stopped.

~8~

The townsfolk were cleaning up after the storm, the city still standing thanks to the small group of four now heading back to the TARDIS, "Now, then, what about you two, eh?" the Doctor grinned at Amy and Rory, "Next stop Leadworth Register Office? Maybe I can give you away."

"It's fine," Rory sighed, waving off the offer, "Drop me back where you found me. I'll just say you've..."

"Stay…with us," Amy said suddenly, "Please. Just for a bit. I want you to stay."

"Fine with me," the Doctor nodded.

"You can be my companion," Angel laughed, grinning broadly at that. Finally!

"Yeah?" Rory started to smile, actually excited at that idea, he'd seen how close Amy and the Doctor were, it would be nice to be that close to someone too, "Yes, I would like that."

"Well technically you're not Angel's _companion_ ," the Doctor cut in, "Only people bonded to the TARDIS are designated as pilots and allowed a companion."

Angel swallowed hard and smiled tensely, trying not to react to that, to the revelation that he even forgot _that_ , well, she supposed he would have, that was the start of their Mating, "We can still pretend though, yeah?"

"Of course," he smiled.

"Nice one," Amy laughed before kissing Rory, "I will pop the kettle on," she unlocked the TARDIS, "Hey, look at this. Got my spaceship and I get both my boys. My work here is done," she smiled and stepped in, closing the door behind her.

Rory scoffed and looked at the Doctor, "We are _not_ her boys."

The Doctor just clapped a hand on Rory's shoulder, "Yeah, we are."

"Yeah, we are."

"Of course," Angel added quietly before looking around with a frown, "Doctor…" she cut in, "Can you hear that?"

"What?" Rory looked around as well, "All I can hear is...silence," but he shook his head, it must be some sort of alien hearing thing and stepped inside.

The Doctor stood there, looking out as he recalled the Signora's words, 'There were cracks. Through some we saw silence and the end of all things.'

"Come on," he mumbled, opening the TARDIS door and allowing Angel in before he stepped inside, casting one more wary look around.

He and Angel moved to the console, getting them into the Vortex as quickly as they could, neither of them wanting to stay there around the odd quiet any longer. Angel paused, glancing at Rory as he sat on the jump seat, watching them. The Doctor didn't seem to notice as he headed up the stairs, whistling a little tune, going to check on Amy in the kitchen, Rory having lost her as soon as he stepped into the box and decided to remain there and wait instead of really getting lost.

"So…" Rory began, just looking for a topic to start a conversation, "I'm your companion now?"

She smiled softly and nodded, "It's about time I had another one."

"Another?" he asked before nodding to himself, "You and the Doctor must've had quite a few."

"I suppose the Doctor has," she remarked, "But I've only had one."

"Really?" he frowned, surprised.

She nodded, "It takes a special sort of person to be able to handle all this," she gestured around the room.

"He must have been brilliant," he remarked a bit depressed, Angel and the Doctor were incredible people even he could admit to that about the Doctor.

Angel smiled, "The Doctor," she began, " _Never_ got his name right, kept calling him Ricky. Always called him an idiot. Tended to forget he was even there. Or he'd ignore him. Or focus on his companion, Rose. Or make fun of his lack of bravery. Because, at first, he wasn't, brave that is. Or all that clever or cool or important…nothing compared to the Doctor," Rory looked down, Angel smiling, "Or at least that's what _he_ thought."

Rory looked at her sharply, "What?"

"Mickey Smith," she said fondly, in thought, "Was, and still is, one of _the most_ remarkable men I've had the pleasure to know," she looked at Rory whose mouth dropped open at her openly stating the human man might be even more remarkable than the Doctor, "The Doctor tends to take any decent person who can handle this life, the ones who would enjoy the ride, and there _are_ quite a few of them. But me, my companions are _far_ more rare, the diamonds in the rough, I take my companions for their potential."

"You…you think I'VE got potential?" he pointed to himself as though he couldn't believe what she was saying.

"I see in you what the Doctor can't," she told him, "I see the people my companions can become if given the chance. I can see them for their strength, a strength buried deep inside, one that is rarely seen but _always_ there, just below the surface. Take Mickey for example," she leaned against the console laughing happily as she recalled him, "He faced down robots and Cybermen and…and Daleks," she swallowed hard, "He saved a parallel world from inside a van! He travelled across dimensions with a silly little teleport button to save this world from two enemies! He shot himself out of a Dimension Cannon to help us stop the Daleks again and save all of reality!"

"Daleks…" Rory frowned in thought, the word was familiar, "Hold on, those metal things with the toilet plungers on their arms? The ones that invaded when the planets were in the sky yeah? Those things?"

Angel nodded, glad to know Rory remembered them at least, "A mutated clone race living in a metal shield, a race born to hate, with force fields around them to make them near indestructible," she sighed, "They were and still are the greatest enemies of the Time Lords."

Rory frowned, "You faced them before?"

Angle glanced at him before patting the side of the console for him to join her, and proceeded to tell him about the War. The bloodshed, the Time Lock, the loss, the survival of the Daleks, and the times they'd faced them in reverse order.

"…one of them, the first one the Doctor had ever met after the War, killed me," she finished, explaining how they never seemed to escape them.

"But you're still alive…"

"We can regenerate," she explained, "Basically change everything about ourselves as we heal, become new people. That's what happened to me. It shot me, made itself so weak that the Doctor was able to blast it to pieces," Rory nodded along with that, "Typically that never happens. The shielding around the Dalek, it only loses power after it's fired its laser at something. Their systems need a bit of time to restore in which case the area around the eyestalk is compromised, very strong blasts would probably kill one. But, usually, there are so many you never get a chance to fire."

Rory was quiet a few moments, "That Mickey Smith," he remarked, "He…he was like me?"

Angel smiled, hearing his insecurities in his voice. She'd told him more than enough about Mickey from just a few words for him to make the connection. Their girl runs off with the Doctor who, by all points in logic, was just so much more impressive than them, and they just feel all the more inadequate… "He's _exactly_ like you," she told him, "And that's why I chose you," he looked at her, all her praises of Mickey made him seem like, in the end, he was so much more than when he began. She reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, "I CAN see it in you Rory. There, just behind your eyes, the potential to be fantastically magnificent!"

"You…you really think so?"

"I'm psychic Rory, I know so," she smiled, nudging him, "The Doctor's companions _are_ special people, but MY companions, they've got to be _beyond_ special."

"And that's me?"

She smirked, "One day," she nodded.

He smiled, that was all he needed, just ONE person to believe in HIM, to be there for HIM, to want HIM. And in that moment, he felt like maybe he could believe that there, inside him, was this brilliant man Angel could see him becoming.

~8~

Later that night Angel laid on her bed, staring at her ceiling, in complete shock, with a hand lightly resting on her stomach, it was...not at all noticeable through the looseness of her dress. But she could feel it, it was there.

She supposed it explained a lot. Her odd craving of fish fingers and custard, how extra ill she felt when she spotted the cracks, her upset stomach when she woke never so bad as to lead to morning sickness but it was getting worse so she couldn't be sure how long that would last, why she couldn't bear to stand anywhere near Winston even when he wasn't smoking as she could still smell the cigar smoke on him, her nose burning in response, or even how sick she felt smelling all that fish earlier, her odd mood changes, the fierce protectiveness that had reared its head in the forest with the angels and then again just that night, and her belt, how it didn't fit anymore…

She should have _realized_.

Especially after Sarah Jane's almost-wedding, she _knew_ what the chances were with a Mating process being completed despite her family history, the _chance_ was still there. She should have _noticed_ , but with everything going on with the new Doctor and Amy and Rory and the cracks and the whispers of the Silence…she just…didn't.

But it was true, it was real…

She was pregnant.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh snap! I think a few of you might have seen that coming? I hope it was still surprising though. I've been trying to be the most subtle I have ever been. I actually hadn't planned this when I was outlining the series, but writing it out, getting to that line 'think of the children' and with the Doctor not remembering Angel…I had an epic epiphany moment of just how much more I could possibly torture her }:) Imagine her with a baby...and the Doctor having NO memory at all of it. I'm so evil ^-^ 
> 
> Lol, I actually hinted at it WAY back in the 10-specials, with the Children of Earth. There was something...more...helping Angel stop the 456, wasn't there? She sensed it even then. She was pregnant, it was a child. She was also using her child's presence on top of her natural intuitiveness to connect to the 456 and didn't even know it.
> 
> Now, I know some of you might be disappointed that Angel is pregnant too, given Evy has a son and Proffy will have twins, all I can say is...please bear with me in this twist. Angel will express her fears over the child, she's already mentioned pregnancies are very, VERY hard in her family. We won't know if the child survives even past the events of the next episode or even this series with the Pandorica...I can say that Angel will, um, well let's just say there's a few twists for the Big Bang involving some key moments that shake quite a few people up. I'm not saying the baby won't survive this series, but I'm not saying it will survive either. I'm just putting it out there that it will especially be VERY dangerous for Angel now that the Doctor seems to be pushing her away and protecting her less. There will be quite a few instances where Angel will be in jeopardy and the baby as a result. I know this twist might make things seem worse for Angel, there are quite a few ways that it can go, her dealing with this. All I ask is that you trust me and see where I take it :)
> 
> On a slightly lighter note, Rory! Awww :) Did you like the little hearts-to-heart with Angel and him? I really couldn't see her NOT telling him about Mickey and the magnificent man he became through the course of his travels. I really liked the look into Rory's head. It's like, Angel just needs one person to be there for her. Rory just needs one person to believe in HIM ^-^
> 
> Next chapter is Amy's Choice, I'm going to give warning now, there's a twist that involves Angel, that will make MUCH more sense when we reach the TW episode :)


	21. Amy's Choice: Where. Is. She?

Birds were chirping on a bright and sunny day, just outside a small two story stone cottage where Amy stood in her small kitchen, mixing something in a bowl, heavily pregnant and looking near ready to pop. She smiled absently as she mixed the concoction before her, having had a craving for pancakes earlier and decided to make some, despite the fact it was nearly 4 in the afternoon.

Suddenly, though, she gasped and set the bowl down, one hand braced on the countertop, the other coming to hold her stomach as it twisted painfully, "RORY!" she screamed.

~8~

Rory, now sporting long hair in a ponytail, rode a bicycle with a basket in the front into the yard of the cottage, having made his rounds as a doctor and was now heading home to be with his lovely wife. He tried to cut back his hours as much as he could, just so he could get home earlier to her, be with her. She was nearly ready to give birth and he did NOT want to miss it. He'd promised Angel he'd call her the moment Amy went into labor...though if he had to guess, he felt it might be more like them watching a movie and Angel running in with the Doctor, shouting about how they needed to get Amy to the hospital right at that moment...and then Amy's contractions would start. He smiled fondly at the thought of his pilot, the psychic, oh he called her up every day asking if she had any feelings about it, just so he could maybe take a day off and be there right from the start for Amy's labor. He really just couldn't wait to be a dad!

"Rory, it's starting!" he heard Amy scream from inside the house just as he pulled up to it.

His eyes widened and he immediately dropped the bike to the ground, running inside, rushing to her side where she sat on the floor, eating batter from the bowl, "Ah. Ok," he admitted he panicked a bit, "Ok..."

"False alarm," Amy shrugged, running her finger along the spoon she'd been mixing with, eating the batter off it.

"What?" he blinked.

"False alarm."

"What?"

"Well, I don't know what it feels like. I've never had a baby before," she fed him some batter.

"Mmm!" he started to smile, leaning in to give her a kiss...

When Amy's eyes widened, hearing a familiar wheezing outside and grabbed Rory's arm instead, using him as leverage to get up off the floor, "No."

"I know, leaf blowers," Rory shook his head, "Use a rake!"

Amy just put the bowl on the table, "No, it's…" they both looked out the window to see the TARDIS materialize outside in their garden, "I knew. I just knew!"

They ran for the door, well...Rory ran, Amy...waddled.

~8~

The TARDIS landed in the middle of Amy's flowerbed, which was really saying something as the small flower bed was literally just a few inches bigger than the base of the TARDIS. If Rory hadn't known any better, he'd have thought Angel had piloted it, for such a perfect fit...but then again, Angel would be considerate enough not to land in the flowerbed at all and crush the poor plants.

The doors popped open and the Doctor stuck his head out to see where he was, stepping out and knocking a stone from the small retaining wall over as he did so, "Rory!" he called, spotting the man as he ran outside.

"Doctor," Rory greeted him.

"I've crushed your flowers."

"Oh, Amy _will_ kill you," he laughed, "Don't need to be Angel to know that...where is she?" he frowned, trying to look past the Doctor, wondering why Angel wasn't coming out to hug him. She'd given him _so many_ hugs over the years that it didn't seem right to see the blue box and then not get a hug...or end up tackled to the ground as Angel threw herself into his arms for a bear hug. She claimed he gave the best human hugs ever. Which he took to be quite the compliment.

"Where's Amy?" the Doctor wondered similar thoughts.

"She'll need a bit longer."

"Whenever you're ready, Amy!" the Doctor yelled as Amy stepped out, his eyes widening at the sight of her pregnant self, "Oh, wahey! Wahey. You've swallowed a planet!" he rested a hand on her stomach.

"I'm pregnant," she smiled.

"You're _huge_."

"Yeah, I'm pregnant."

"Look at you. When worlds collide."

"Doctor, I'm _pregnant_."

"Oh, look at you both. Five years later and you haven't changed a bit," he hugged her, "Apart from age and size."

"Good to see you, Doctor," Amy shook her head.

There was a slight pause before he asked, "Are you pregnant?"

Amy shook her head at him.

Rory just frowned more, " Doctor, where's Angel?"

He'd _really_ missed his Pilot over the years, they'd gotten very close during their travels. Angel had been there for him through so much, defended him against the Doctor's teasings, been lovely as a bridesmaid during his and Amy's wedding, helped talk to Amy about settling down when he'd confided he wanted to start a family, and just...always been there for him. Even after they'd stayed on Earth, Angel always seemed to know when he needed someone to talk to and would call to check in. And she'd even visit at times! Oh those were lovely. They'd relied on each other so much in that old box and he hadn't actually seen her since before Amy had gotten pregnant so...he was really looking forward to seeing her again.

So where was she?

The Doctor looked back over his shoulder, as if surprised Angel wasn't right behind him for a moment, "Oh, she's around," he turned back to them, "She's visiting our friend Jack and his team Torchwood."

Amy nodded and turned to go back inside for her coat, wanting to get out of the house and show the Doctor their village. The Doctor clapped Rory on the shoulder and followed after her.

Rory though frowned, something about that...wasn't right. Angel wouldn't miss this opportunity to see them. And, with a time machine, the Doctor could have picked her up when she was finished and come there. He looked back at the TARDIS, feeling...something was off. He was suspicious that Angel might have rubbed off on him, or at least made him more confident in his instincts. But something here didn't fit. Something was wrong. Angel should be there, so why wasn't she? He'd caught that little glimpse of the Doctor's reaction, the man seemed genuinely surprised Angel wasn't there, till he...sort of remembered where she was.

But that didn't change the fact that Angel should be there.

"Rory come on!" Amy called as she waddle-jogged out of the house, dragging the Doctor along behind her, eager to stretch her legs.

Rory shook his head and turned to follow after his pregnant wife.

~8~

The trio was walking down a village lane while the Doctor looked around, "Ah, Leadworth. Vibrant as ever."

"It's _Upper_ Leadworth, actually," Rory smiled, "We've gone slightly up market."

"Where _is_ everyone?" he turned to his left where...no one was there, and blinked, turning back to Amy and Rory, "Where is everyone?"

He'd forgotten there, just for a moment, that Angel was visiting Jack. It felt...weird. He had to admit, it really did, that Angel wasn't there with him. It had been him and her for a while as Amy and Rory settled down. Perhaps he'd finally given her that earache he'd worried about. She'd just...asked him if she might stop in and see Jack for a short while, something about Gray visiting Torchwood and wanting to be with her brothers. He knew how important the men were to Angel and so he'd dropped her off in the Plass and went about tinkering with the TARDIS. He wanted to try his hand at fixing something, impress Angel when she returned...

No, he stopped a moment, that wasn't the reason. He wasn't trying to impress her. No, why would he? No, no, he just...wanted to see if he could fix the TARDIS. He'd been testing out the control and, the next thing he knew, he was in front of Amy and Rory's yard. He supposed he was just so used to Angel being there to fix it for him and join him wherever he went that, to not have her there...it hadn't really sunk in yet.

"This _is_ busy," Amy said as she glanced back at the only other two people turning off the lane behind them, "Ok, it's quiet, but it's really restful and healthy. Loads of people here live well into their 90s."

"Well, don't let that get you down."

"It's not getting me down."

"I wanted to see how you were," the Doctor sat on the center of a bench by a wall, "I don't just abandon people when they leave the TARDIS. This Time Lord's for life. You don't get rid of the Doctor so easily."

"You ended up here on accident didn't you?" Rory smiled a bit.

"How did you know?" the Doctor looked up at him.

"I'm psychic," he joked, "No, Angel I can believe popping in."

The Doctor smiled at that, thinking on her. She _did_ pop in a lot on her 'family' didn't she? Just last week she went to see Martha and Mickey, the week before, tea with Sarah Jane, and now visiting Jack, and he knew she had plans with Donna to nab a bit of lunch in a few days, well a few days for Donna. His smile started to fade a bit...she was...always asking him if she might go see them. He never could bring himself to go, it hurt him to look back on all those people he'd had to leave behind, all the people who kept growing older and decaying while he stayed as he was, but that didn't stop her. It...it almost seemed like she was trying to get away from him. It was like every other adventure they had she'd want to see her family. It was starting to worry him because she was gone longer and longer each time, like she was...weaning him off her.

Not that there was anything to be weaned off of. No. Of course not. Not really. No.

But he _did_ miss her when she wasn't there. He was a bit afraid that he'd done something to upset her and this was her way of telling him she wanted to leave, but that she was just too kind to actually do it. He swallowed hard at that thought, his hearts starting to race and tug at imagining Angel leaving him.

"Yeah, bit of a mistake," he mumbled, if just to get his mind away from that topic and back to the Ponds, "I didn't have Angel to double check my work. But look, what a result. Look at this...bench," he patted it, "What a nice bench. What will they think of next?" Amy and Rory sat down on either side of him, the three of them sitting there, a bit bored, "So...what do you do around here to stave off the, you know..."

"Boredom?" Amy glanced at him.

"Self harm."

"We relax..." Rory said as the Doctor mouthed 'relax,' "We live, we listen to the birds."

"Yeah, see, birds," Amy nodded, hearing a small chirping birdsong, "Those are nice."

"We didn't get time to listen to birdsong back in the TARDIS days."

"Well of course not," the Doctor laughed, "The TARDIS would have a fit if birds started nesting in her rafters!" he winced though as the birdsong became louder, making him rub his head, "Oh, blimey. My head's a bit, oh..." he held his head in his hand and sat back up, "No, you're right, there wasn't a lot of time for birdsong back in the good..." he began to drift off, "Old...days…"

And then the three of them drifted off to sleep.

~8~

" _Doctor wake up!_ "

The Doctor jerked awake at the sound of someone shouting at him, to find himself lying on the floor of the TARDIS. He looked around, half expecting Angel to be there as the voice that had shouted was most certainly hers...but...she wasn't there. He shook his head, she's was visiting Jack wasn't she? No…that had been in the dream, right now she was somewhere in the TARDIS, probably in her room sleeping or something. She seemed tired lately, not that he blamed her. Their last few adventures had been a mess of running and rain and sweltering forests and being chased by aliens...he was even tired. And he hoped she wasn't getting ill. He winced at the thought of her standing out in that storm in Venice with Rory and Amy, hoping she hadn't caught a cold. She seemed slightly more pale than normal and, once or twice, he swore he saw her turn a bit green when he was cooking.

Which was understandable, Amy had spit out his last culinary attempt.

But at least he knew she was in the TARDIS. He smiled at that, she was in the TARDIS and with him, not with Jack, not on Earth while he was wandering off somewhere. Most important rule, not to wander off, he found it applied to Angel as well, he never felt...quite right...wandering away from her. There was always a niggling in his mind that told him to stay with her. And he knew it wasn't just her abilities, knowing they'd help him keep everyone safe and warn him of dangers, but just...things went better when Angel was around.

She was like a...good luck charm...

~oOo~

_Jack cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders before they stepped out of the alley, walking along the main street, trying to get their bearings, "Still, at least we made it. Earth, 21st century by the looks of it. Ha ha, talk about lucky."_

_"That wasn't luck, that was me and Angel," he said._

_Angel frowned and looked up at him, "Me? What did I do?"_

_He leaned in, rubbing his nose against hers lightly, "You were there."_

_"My good luck charm."_

_"She better not be helping you get THAT lucky Doc," Jack warned with a smirk. He may not want to KNOW about them dancing, but he sure as hell didn't have a problem teasing them about it._

_"Jack!" he cried, flushing._

~oOo~

He winced, abruptly jerking up, "What? No, yes, sorry, what?" Amy and Rory walked down the stairs and met him by the console as he picked himself up, both of them looking a bit confused as well, "Oh, you're ok. Oh, thank God. I had a terrible nightmare about you two. That was scary. Don't ask, you don't want to know. You're safe now," he hugged Amy.

"Oh, ok," Amy hugged him back, shooting Rory a confused look over the man's shoulder.

"That's what counts. Blimey, never dropped off like that before. Well, never, really. I'm getting on a bit, you see. Don't let the cool gear fool you. Now, what's wrong with the console?" he examined it to see a red flashing light, "Red flashing lights...I bet they mean something," he spun around, as though expecting Angel to walk in with the answer, "Angel?!" he called, dashing to the stairs and shouting down the halls, knowing the TARDIS would rework the halls so that her room would be closer, let her hear him, "Could you come to the console room please?" he whirled around and dashed back to it, leaning over to look at the red flashing lights up close.

"Doctor, I also had a kind of dream thing," Rory admitted, making the Time Lord stiffen.

"Yeah, so did I," Amy nodded.

"Not a nightmare, though, just...we were married."

"Yeah, in a little village…"

The Doctor stood and looked at them, surprised and a bit concerned.

"A sweet little village, and you were pregnant."

"Yeah, I was huge. I was a boat!"

The Doctor walked up behind Rory and tugged his hoodie, looking for the ponytail.

"So you had the same dream, then? Exactly the same dream?"

"Are you calling me a _boat_?"

"And Doctor, you were visiting," Rory looked at him, avoiding answering the question, "But Angel was with that Jack bloke. Who's he by the way?"

"Her older brother," he murmured, "One of them anyway," before he opened Amy's jacket, looking for her pregnant belly.

"Yeah, yeah," Amy nodded, recalling that moment too, "You came to our cottage without her."

"How can we have the same dream?" Rory shook his head, "It doesn't make sense."

"And you had a nightmare about us. What happened to us in the nightmare?"

"It was similar, in some aspects," the Doctor said.

"Which aspects?" Rory asked.

"Well, all of them."

"You had the same dream?" Amy frowned.

"Basically."

"You said it was a _nightmare_ ," Rory pointed out.

"Did I say nightmare? No. More of a really good...mare. Look, it doesn't matter. We all had some kind of psychic episode. We probably jumped a time track," he waved them off, moving to look at the monitor, trying to find Angel in the TARDIS scanner, wanting to know exactly where she was so he could go get her for a little help, who better to ask about a psychic episode than a psychic? "Forget it, we're back to reality now."

But he tensed before he could reach the monitor, hearing the birdsong begin again.

"Doctor, if we're back to reality how come I can still hear birds?" Amy breathed.

"Yeah, the same birds," Rory agreed, "The same ones we heard in the…"

~8~

They woke up on the bench, Rory and the Doctor's heads together, "…dream," Rory pulled away from the Doctor in embarrassment, "Oh. Sorry. Nodded off, stupid. God, I must be overdoing it. I was dreaming we were back on the TARDIS, but..." he frowned as the Doctor got up, "Angel wasn't there..." he looked at Amy, "You had the same dream, didn't you?"

"Back in the TARDIS," Amy nodded, "Weren't we just saying the same thing?"

"But we thought _this_ was the dream."

The Doctor picked up a small stone from the path and examined it, tossing it back down onto the ground.

Amy stood up, "I think so. Why do dreams fade so quickly?"

Rory made his way over to the Doctor, "Doctor, what is going on?"

"Is this because of you? Is this some Time Lord thing because you've shown up again?"

"Listen to me," the Doctor turned to them, "Trust nothing. From now on, trust nothing you see, hear or feel."

"Why not?" Amy frowned.

"Because Angel isn't here to tell us what's real, or if we're even awake and I can't tell," the Doctor rubbed his head.

He was slowly starting to get the suspicion that this wasn't an ordinary dream, and if it wasn't an ordinary dream...then something else was going on. And with Angel not there...for some reason...his mind immediately went to whether or not she was ok, if something might have happened to her and that was why she wasn't there at the moment.

"But we're awake now," Rory shook his hea.

"You thought you were awake on the TARDIS too."

"But we're home," Amy gestured around.

"Yeah. You're home. You're also dreaming. Trouble is, Rory, Amy, which is which? Are we flashing forwards…or backwards? Hold on tight. This is going be a tricky...one..." he started blinking quickly, hearing the birdsong pick up, before the three of them fell to the ground...

He blinked blearily, trying to fight it...his vision growing hazy and blurred as sleep seized him. But...he almost swore, the last thing he saw before the blackness consumed him...was Angel kneeling over him, worry in her eyes...

~8~

Amy woke up on the jump seat with a gasp to see the Doctor stride over to a lever on the console, about to grab it...when the console sparked violently.

"Ow!" he winced, snapping his hand away, shaking it out, "Oi! I thought you forgave me for the mess!" he huffed at the rotor, moving to try and take the lever again, he gripped it this time, managing to pull it down only a bit...when blaring alarms went off.

"Doctor!" Amy shouted, putting her hands over her ears, Rory doing the same at the piercing noise, "Turn it off!"

"I'm trying!" he grumbled, pressing quite a few random buttons, only for half of them to spark against him, the lights starting to turn red, "Stop that!" he called to the TARDIS.

"Doctor!" Amy ran over, trying to help, wanting the noise to stop, only for the TARDIS to let out the most angry grinding noise they'd heard from the old box yet as she reached another knob. She struggled to turn it, the grinding noise getting louder.

"Amy stop!" Rory rushed to her side, pulling her back, not needing to be a Time Lord or anything to know that the box was, for some reason, very very angry and not at all happy with Amy and the Doctor trying to, well, push her buttons.

"Come on!" the Doctor grunted, struggling to push a lever up that would cut off the terrible noise.

"Doctor just go find Angel!" Rory shouted, moving to try and help the Doctor, knowing that Angel would be the best person to try and calm down the epic tantrum that was being thrown. The man backed away, about to do just that...

When Rory pushed the lever up, perfectly easy, the alarms fading.

The Doctor blinked, staring at him, at how he'd been able to do that. That lever hadn't given for anything and there was Rory just...pushing it up, like it was easy.

"Um..." Rory pointed to the lever, "What just happened?"

"How did you do that?" Amy asked, him, walking over, before spinning to the Doctor, "How did he do that?"

The Doctor frowned and itched the side of his face, before tentatively reaching out and tapping a button...the console sparking in retaliation. He pouted, walking over to Amy and taking her hand, moving to put it on a knob, only for that to spark too. And then he eyed Rory, leaning in close, nearly nose-to-nose with him, squinting at him, before leaning back and grabbing Rory's hand, putting it on a switch...which did nothing. No spark, nothing at all.

"What does that mean?" Amy shook her head, crossing her arms and frowning at how the TARDIS had reacted to both her and the Doctor but not Rory.

"It seems Rory is the only one the TARDIS will let touch the controls without throwing a fit," the Doctor remarked.

Amy rolled her eyes, "Yeah, we got that, but why?"

They both looked at Rory as though he would know the answer when the Doctor clearly didn't, but he just shrugged, "Maybe she likes me?"

"It's a machine," Amy countered, "It's just a spaceship."

Rory frowned, he'd heard Angel call the box 'she' and 'girl' and, it seemed he'd picked it up as well, but he did get the sense that the ship was alive in some way. Angel had told him, when she talked about the War and the Daleks after Venice, about what she did on Gallifrey, the TARDISes she'd grown. He knew they were grown, he wasn't sure if Amy did. As a nurse, he always felt a profound sense of respect for life, and if a TARDIS could be grown and not built, well, it had to have some sense of life to it, didn't it?

They looked up as the TARDIS hummed gently, Rory getting the distinct impression that she was either agreeing with his words or his thoughts, either way, it meant he was right. Oh, that was a nice feeling.

"Yes, well," the Doctor muttered, "This is bad," he tried to turn one more knob, hoping that the hum might mean the old box had calmed down some...only for the grinding noise to start again in warning, "I don't like this!" he pointed his own warning finger at the rotor and kicked the base console, only serving to hurt his foot, "Argh! Never use force. You just embarrass yourself. Unless you're cross, in which case, always use force."

"Shall I run and get the manual?" Amy asked as the Doctor headed down stairs to look under the console.

"Angel threw it in a supernova."

" _Angel_ threw the manual in a supernova?"

~oOo~

_"YOU dress up and I'LL leave my hair down."_

_"I could have worn that suit you know," he nudged Angel lightly back, "But someone went and threw it in a supernova."_

_She poked him in the side, "YOU were the one who threw the manual into a supernova first," she reminded him, making him pout, "I was just following your example."_

_"The manual was wrong though," he insisted._

_"My ancestors helped write the manual," she countered, "Are you saying I'M wrong about the TARDIS?"_

_He blinked, realizing he may have just fallen into a bit of a trap, before he leaned in and kissed her quickly, "I'm saying that I'd much rather learn it from YOU than some stuffy old book," he kissed her again, "Books are boring, YOU are the most interesting, divine specimen in the Universe," he grinned, kissing the back of her hand, feeling her hearts jump at his words, "I'd pay attention to everything you say."_

~oOo~

"Why would Angel even need a manual for the TARDIS?" Rory poked another hole in his excuse.

"Oh alright, _I_ threw it in a supernova," he grumbled, shaking his head.

"Why?" Amy nearly laughed.

"Because I disagreed with it. Stop talking to me when I'm cross!" he pointed at her.

"Ok, but whatever's wrong with the TARDIS, is that what caused us to dream about the future?" Rory asked, before blinking, "Has Angel ever dreamed about the future?"

" _If_ we were dreaming of the future…" the Doctor headed back up the stairs, not answering Rory's question, though it did have a point to it. Angel would be able to help much more than him, she was brilliant with the TARDIS and, the box hadn't been cross with Angel last time it had been cross with him, perhaps she would be able to pilot it wherever they needed o go to get out of the time track or whatever it was that was causing whatever this was.

"Of course we were," Amy nodded, "We were in Leadworth."

" _Upper_ Leadworth," Rory corrected, just as he had in the dream.

"Yeah, and we could still be in Upper Leadworth, dreaming of this," the Doctor argued, "Don't you get it?"

"No, ok, no, this is real," Amy said, "I'm definitely awake now."

"And you thought you were awake when you were all elephanty."

"Hey, _pregnant_!"

"And you could be giving birth right now. This _could_ be the dream. I told you, trust nothing we see or hear or feel until Angel gets here, shouldn't be that long, she's probably sensed us stuck in whatever this is. But the point is, till then, look around you. Examine everything. Look for all the details that don't ring true," he moved to the console and moved the monitor around...only for the screen to go to static as soon as he began to type in the keyboard, "I'm just trying to find out where Angel is!" he grumbled at the TARDIS.

It was silent a moment longer before the screen flickered to life, "Thanks," he rolled his eyes, typing away on the scanner, looking for Angel. If anyone could tell them if they were dreaming the future or at least sense which was real it would be her.

"Ok, we're in a spaceship that's bigger on the inside than the outside," Rory started.

"With a bowtie-wearing alien," Amy nodded, "And a psychic in cowboy boots."

"So maybe 'what rings true' isn't so simple."

"Valid point," the Doctor murmured before his eyes widened at the reading being displayed about Angel's whereabouts.

And then the TARDIS's power cut off, sending the monitor black, leaving them in darkness, the only light coming from the dim glow of the rotor.

"Doctor," Amy breathed, "What happened?"

"Well…two things. Two bad, really quite very bad things...first is...Angel isn't reading on any of the scans. She's not onboard the TARDIS and she should be."

"Where is she?" Rory spun to him.

"I don't know."

"How can you not know?!" Rory frowned, the Doctor had been the last person to see Angel before. He and Amy had gone to the kitchen for a late lunch and Angel was helping the Doctor work on fixing something on the console. The man was literally the last person to see her so how could he not know where she went?!

"What's the second thing?" Amy cut in, not wanting the boys to start arguing when there was still another 'very bad thing' to come.

"The TARDIS is dead," the Doctor stated, "We're in a dead time machine," the birdsong returned and the TARDIS grew darker, Rory went to Amy and took her in his arms, "Remember, this is real, but when we wake up in the other place, remember how real this feels."

"It is real," Amy stated even as she and Rory started to slump to the ground, "I know it's real."

" _Doctor?_ "

The Doctor heard someone whispering, turning his head as he half fell onto the jump seat.

" _Doctor?!_ "

"Angel?" he murmured...before falling to the ground, asleep.

~8~

The Doctor stood in the middle of the street as a group of schoolchildren walked by. Amy and Rory woke up on the bench, "Ok," Amy swallowed, " _This_ is the real one, definitely this one," she patted her stomach, "It's all solid."

"It felt solid in the TARDIS too," the Doctor countered, growing more and more frustrated.

Finding out that Angel wasn't on the TARDIS when he thought she'd been was worrying him. He'd thought she was with Jack in this world but...what if she wasn't? What if she wasn't there? And if she wasn't there...where was she? He swallowed hard, resting a hand to the center of his chests as his hearts began to hammer away, his blood racing, though he felt cold at the thought of something having happened to Angel and that was why she wasn't there with them.

"You can't spot a dream while you're having it…unless your Angel…and she's not here right now," he waved his hands around in front of his face.

"What are you doing?" Rory frowned.

"Looking for motion blur, pixilation. It could be a computer simulation. I don't think so, though."

An old woman walked by, smiling at them, "Hello, doctor."

"Hi," the Doctor greeted.

"Hello," Rory smiled.

The woman paused to look back at the Doctor oddly before continuing on.

"You're a doctor?" the Doctor turned to Rory.

"Yeah. And unlike you, I've actually passed some exams," he smirked, recalling a story Angel had told him about the Doctor's piloting. Oh that was brilliant. The man couldn't even pilot his own transport! Oh the stories Angel had told him about the Doctor's past exploits...well, they had him in stitches. The man never seemed able to make the landing quite right could he? At least not when he didn't let Angel help or pilot herself.

"A doctor, not a nurse. Just like you've always dreamed. How interesting," he walked off.

"What is?"

"Your dream wife, your dream job, probably your dream baby. Maybe this is your dream."

"It's Amy's dream too. Isn't it, Amy?"

"Yes," Amy answered quickly, a bit too quickly but Rory didn't notice, "Course it is, yeah."

"But I don't think it's mine."

"Why not?" the Doctor eyed him.

Rory shrugged, "I'd want Angel here too."

The Doctor blinked at that, at yet another reminder that Angel wasn't, in fact, there with them, and turned, looking around, spotting an old building with old people looking out at them through the windows. But that wasn't what caught his eye and made him stiffen, staring right back.

Standing there, in the stairwell of the building, by the window, and looking right down at him with a small frown, was _Angel_.

He blinked and she was gone.

He shook his head and pointed at the building, "What's that?"

"Old people's home," Amy shrugged.

"You said everyone here lives to their 90s. There's something here that doesn't make sense…let's go and poke it with a stick!" he ran off, Rory following after him with a groan.

He almost felt responsible for the Time Lord in a way. Amy was pregnant, probably wouldn't be able to keep up with him as needed. Angel wasn't there. And so...it really fell to him to keep an eye on the Doctor. For Angel. He'd noticed she worried about the Doctor often. He saw her look at him, at times, with this worried look on her face, but that was just her, she worried about everyone didn't she? Well, he wouldn't let anything happen to the Doctor for her.

Amy put her hands on her back a moment, "Oh. Can we not do the running thing?" but they had already disappeared into the building. She sighed and made her way in after them, catching up with them as they entered the second floor lounge of the home, the residents relaxing around while an old woman was knitting on a sofa.

"Oh, hello, Dr. Williams!" a resident called.

The knitting woman looked up, "Hello, Rory love."

"Hello, Mrs. Poggit," Rory smiled, "How's your hip?"

"A bit stiff."

"Oh, easy, D-96 compound, plus..." the Doctor trailed off, "No, you don't have that yet, forget that."

"Who's your friend? A junior doctor?"

"Yes," Rory grinned.

"Can I borrow you?" Poggit looked at the Doctor, "You're the size of my grandson."

The Doctor knelt before her as she put a jumper over his head, "Slightly keen to move on. Freak psychic schism to sort out without the local psychic around to help, not an easy task," he leaned forward, forcing Poggit to sit back, "You're incredibly _old_ , aren't you?"

The residents looked on, expressionless, as the birdsong began, the trio falling to the floor, asleep.

~8~

" _Please be ok..._ "

The Doctor winced, hearing someone that sounded very much like Angel pleading beside him. He rolled onto his side but there was no one there. He frowned at that, that notion felt wrong...that there was no one at his side. He shook his head and sat up, seeing Amy and Rory waking from their positions leaning against the console.

"Ok, I hate this, Doctor," Amy said, "Stop it, because this is definitely real, it's definitely this one. I keep saying that, don't I?"

The Doctor ignored her, heading up to the upper level of the TARDIS, knowing better than to attempt tinkering with the console at the moment, he did NOT need any more burns on his hands thank you very much.

"It's bloody cold," Rory murmured, feeling a bit...relieved that Angel wasn't there to be put through this.

All this waking up and different worlds and the chill...he'd rather her not be there for something so odd, especially since they didn't know what was going on or how dangerous it would be. Sure, it would probably be easier if she was there, if she had been able to sense what was happening or if there was a danger coming but, in a way, it was safer that she wasn't. Angel had jokingly called him her younger brother, but he'd felt it. That tiny flash of protectiveness that he assumed siblings would feel for each other. He couldn't help but feel like...he wanted to protect her. For her claims of being the 'older sister' she was shorter than him, smaller than him, made him feel like she needed protecting. He noticed how dangerous things got around the Doctor, and how...oblivious he could sometimes be to that fact, he...he didn't want Angel to get hurt because of that.

"The heating's off," the Doctor replied.

"The heating's off?" he repeated, not having really been paying attention as his thoughts drifted to Angel.

"Yeah. Put on a jumper. That's what I always do."

"Yes, sorry about Mrs. Poggit. She's so lovely though."

"Oh, I wouldn't believe her nice old lady act if I were you."

"What do you mean, 'act?'" Amy asked.

"Everything's off, sensors, core power. We're drifting. The scanner's down so we can't even see out. We could be anywhere," he sighed, rubbing his forehead, "I wish I knew where Angel was, she'd sense something by now, point me in the right direction. She'd tell us what's going on."

"Yeah, and help with the TARDIS," Rory added.

He'd discovered rather quickly that Angel was the go-to-gal whenever a question about the TARDIS came up or a repair was needed. He'd stumbled in on her fixing the small explosion that the Doctor had made before Venice and they got to talking about it, about the Doctor's piloting, about everything TARDIS related. She'd even started showing him how the TARDIS worked, how to fix little things here and there. It was actually great fun, she really knew how to explain it in ways he could understand as opposed to the Doctor who tended to go off on a ramble of technobabble and lost tangents. He really appreciated the fact that Angel took the time to explain it to him. To be honest, it could get a bit overwhelming in the bigger-on-the-inside phone box, she really helped to acclimatize him to it, make him feel welcome and comfortable, and that meant the world to him. He found that he really enjoyed her company. It was great to bond, Pilot to companion. Secretly, he'd really sort of wanted a closeness like Amy and the Doctor seemed to have and, it seemed, he was well on his way to it. Angel was just great, she'd even started to tell him some stories about the adventures they'd gotten into before he and Amy arrived before he'd realized it had been quite a few hours since he'd gotten any sleep and headed of to bed with the promise to hear more about it later, a promise he was sure they'd both keep.

The Doctor headed back down to the console, "The only thing I know is that someone, something, is overriding my controls."

Just then a hologram of an older man appeared on the top of the steps. He was short with a receding hairline and a bit on the heavy side, dressed in a tweed jacket with a striped shirt and a large bowtie.

"Well, _that_ took a while," the image walked down the steps, "Can't say I'm surprised though," he gave the Doctor a near sneering look, "You're quite the oblivious dunce aren't you? Honestly, I'd heard _such_ good things," he rolled his eyes, giving the impression he was being sarcastic, "Last of the Time Lords, the Oncoming Storm, the Destroyer of Worlds. Him in the bowtie. But I supposed you're really nothing without the Angel there beside you aren't you? With the Last Time Lady, the Life Bringer, the Creator of Light. The angel among mortals? Now SHE'S someone to talk about," he smiled.

"How did you get into my TARDIS?" the Doctor's eyes narrowed, his hands clenching into fists at the look on the man's face as he spoke of Angel, something which seemed to amuse the man to no end, "What are you?"

"What shall we call me?" the man hummed, "Well, if you're the Time Lord, let's call me the Dream Lord."

"Nice look."

"This?" he grimaced at his outfit, "No, I'm not convinced. Bowties? Rather useless ties aren't they? I like regular ties, much more useful."

The Doctor took an item from his pocket and tossed it at the Dream Lord, the item passing through him, "Interesting."

"I'd _love_ to be impressed, but Dream Lord, it's in the name, isn't it? Spooky, not quite there," he flickered and appeared behind them, "And yet, very much here. Really you should have worked that out. Angel would have, she would have sensed exactly what I was before I even appeared," he smiled, seeming almost...fond, "The psychic."

"I'll do the talking, thank you," the Doctor nearly snapped, "What have you done with Angel?"

The Dream Lord laughed, "Me? You think I've taken her somewhere? What am I, a thief?" he hummed, "Well I suppose not anymore am I?"

The Doctor's jaw tensed, "Where. Is. She?"

"Ohh," he smirked, chuckling darkly at the tone of the Doctor's voice, "Is that meant to frighten me?"

"Tell me what you've done with her!"

"I've done nothing," the man spat, glaring right back at the Doctor, none of his previous 'good nature' to be found, " _Nothing at all_. And maybe _that's_ the problem isn't it?"

The Doctor tensed and shook his head, realizing he'd never get anything out of the man being angry, so he turned to Amy, though his eyes were still on the hologram, "Amy, want to take a guess at what that is?" he offered her the question, needing a distraction.

"Um," Amy blinked, startled by the sudden question, "Dream Lord. He creates dreams."

"Dreams, delusions, cheap tricks."

"And what about the gooseberry here, does he get a guess?" the Dream Lord asked, nodding at Rory.

"Listen, mate, if anyone's the gooseberry around here, it's the Doctor," Rory stated.

"There's a delusion I'm not responsible for," the Dream Lord smirked at Rory, though more of an impressed smirk than anything, that boy...he had spunk, he could see why Angel liked him.

"No, he is," Rory insisted, "Isn't he, Amy?"

"No arguments there mate," the Dream Lord nodded, glancing at the Doctor, "King of the Gooseberries him. Can't even see what's right in front of him," he shook his head, "Can't even see what's at risk."

The Doctor tensed, sensing a threat in the man's words, "What are you talking about?"

The Dream Lord's smirk grew dark, "Keep it up, Doctor, and you will lose the most important thing in your world forever."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM LOVING the Dream Lord. Seriously. The Doctor may have forgotten Angel but his subconscious is VERY much aware of what it is he has forgotten. I'm tingling to see how the Dream Lord reacts to the rest of this episode :) I can also say that there'll be more memory-flashes in this episode than the others, since it's mostly dreams I feel like more would sneak through :) Lol, did you like how the TARDIS only liked Rory in the dream world?
> 
> As for what's up with Angel...we have our very first Angel-lite episode. I feel like they did it in the show, why not try it here. I'll say now there's a reason why Angel isn't here. I think, if she was in a dream world of her own, we'd have seen it, so I think I can safely say she is not in any dream world at all. As for where she is, whether sleeping in the TARDIS as this happens like one Doctor thinks, or visiting Jack like the other dream-him believes, or something else we'll have to see. I also feel like the Doctor notices more about Angel when she's not there so the Dream Lord's words might have more of an impact.
> 
> I'm also officially announcing that the Torchwood Crossover for Miracle Day will take place after Cold Blood :)


	22. Amy's Choice: I Remember Everything

The Dream Lord laughed, "Work it out mate," he eyed the Doctor, "I'm _not_ helping _you_."

"Will you tell me then?" Rory asked, taking a step up, he had...

No idea what he was doing.

He admitted it, but...if that man knew where Angel was, and seemed to like him a bit, maybe he'd tell HIM what was going on. He really didn't know why the TARDIS let him touch the controls and not the Doctor or Amy, but maybe the same applied to the Dream Lord too. The man, for all his slight insults against him, seemed to be more at ease and more joking than when he spoke to the Doctor.

"I would," the man nodded, "But I won't."

"Why not?" Rory frowned.

"Because you'll tell the idiot over there," he jerked a thumb at the Doctor, who glared at him for the insult, "He calls everyone else an idiot, humans are stupid apes," he mimicked a North accent, before switching it to normal, "And then there's Mickey the Idiot, yet he's the one who can't seem to notice the obvious!"

"Why would you tell Rory and not the Doctor?" Amy shook her head, not following. Yeah, the Dream Lord seemed to have a grudge with the Doctor, but...what made Rory so remarkable.

"Oh thanks," Rory rolled his eyes, seeming to sense that same thought.

"She has a valid point," the Doctor agreed.

"Oh, Amy," the Dream Lord chuckled at their bicker, "Have to sort your men out. Choose, even."

"I have chosen," Amy said, "Of course I've chosen," and, without taking her eyes off the Dream Lord, she smacked Rory on the chest, "It's you, stupid."

"Oh, good, thanks," Rory scoffed. Nice, call him stupid, wonderful.

"You can't fool me," the Dream Lord smirked, looking at Amy, "I've seen your dreams. Some of them twice Amy. Blimey, I'd blush if I had a blood supply or a real face. Hmm," he hummed, "So I suppose I'll have to settle for this," and then he set his face in a wide grimace, " _Disgusting_. You _do_ know he's old enough to be your great grandfather and then some yes? Yet he acts like a child. It's remarkable Angel hasn't grown tired of you and left."

"Oi!" the Doctor glared, his heart racing at the mention of Angel leaving, it was a...lingering fear of his, that something about him was driving her away. She seemed quiet and distant and spent an awful lot of time with Rory instead of him, more and more time away from him really. He didn't like it, "Where did you pick up this cheap cabaret act?" he asked, needing anything to get _off_ the topic of Angel leaving especially when she wasn't there to reassure him that she wasn't going to leave.

"Me? Oh, you're on _shaky_ ground."

"Am I?" he crossed his arms.

The Dream Lord gave him a look before starting in on him, "If you had any more tawdry quirks you could open up a Tawdry Quirk Shop. The madcap vehicle, the cockamamie hair, the clothes designed by a first-year fashion student...I'm surprised you haven't got a little purple space dog just to ram home what an intergalactic wag you are especially with the fact that you just keep on _hurting_ her and you don't even realize you're _doing it_!" he sounded almost furious near the end of his rant before he took a breath, "Where was I?"

"You were..." Rory began.

The Dream Lord appeared on the upper level, "I know where I was, thank you Rory," he gave Rory a polite nod, before he smirked dangerously at the Doctor, "So, here's your challenge. Two worlds. Here, in the time machine, and there, in the village that time forgot. One is real, the other's fake. This time you've not got Angel to tell you which it is," he shook his head and leaned forward, resting his hands on the railing to look down on them, "But really Doctor is that _all_ she's good for to you anymore? A problem solver? A Visionary? A wielder of the Vortex?"

"Of course not!" the Doctor snapped, glaring up at him, the force of his tone making Amy jump. He sounded truly _furious_ at that moment.

Of course he would be, Angel wasn't that, not to him. He could appreciate, yes, that Angel was a blessing to have in tricky spots, her abilities and powers made her an asset. But she was _more_ than that. She was _so much more_ than that to him. She was the last Time Lady, she was family to his companions, she was his friend, his mate...

Why did he keep _wincing_ at that word?! She was a dear friend and he worried about her. He cared about her. He didn't want her to get hurt.

"Really?" the Dream Lord scoffed, "Well then, just to make it more interesting, you're going to face, in both worlds, a deadly danger. But only one of the dangers is real. Tweet, tweet. Time to sleep," the trio started to fall to the floor, "Oh, or are you waking up?"

~8~

" _Wake up! Doctor please! Wake up!_ "

The Doctor jerked awake, feeling almost like he'd been shoved in his sleep, to find himself still in the lounge of the old people's home, Amy and Rory getting up off the floor, the room now empty save for them. None of the elderly were anywhere in sight, there was no one, until the Dream Lord entered, dressed in a suit, holding an x-ray, "Oh, this is bad. This is very, very bad. Look at this x-ray. Your brain is completely see-through. But then, I've always been able to see through you, Doctor. Not as well as Angel though, she can read you like a book can't she?"

The Doctor's lips pursed, "Of course she can, she's..."

"Psychic?"

"Intuitive."

The man laughed, "I think you know it goes _much_ deeper than that," he eyed the man as the Doctor frowned, confused, "Oh, dear, seems you really _don't_ know. Well that makes this all the more fun for me," he grinned, what fun this would be. It was always so interesting to torment others when they had no idea what they'd done to deserve it, but deserve it they had.

"What fun? Why are you doing this? Have I offended you in some way."

"Yes," the man nodded, playfully thoughtful, "Yes you have."

"When?" the Doctor shook his head, "In the future?" clearly it had to be that, he didn't recognize this man at all, "I haven't done it yet. Don't take it out on me or them," he nodded at the humans, "When _I_ didn't do it yet."

"Where was _that_ sentiment in the forest with River?" the Dream Lord glared at him.

"What about River?" the Doctor tensed.

The Dream Lord shook his head, "Getting defensive of HER?" he let out a disgusted scoff, "Did you really not see what she did? Or were you not able to see past her space hair?"

"Always?" Amy cut in, seeing the Doctor about to start shouting and knowing they couldn't risk angering the man controlling their escape from the challenge, "What do you mean, always?"

"Now then," the Dream Lord took a breath, regaining composure, but ignoring Amy, "The prognosis is this," the Doctor fell back onto Mrs. Poggit's chair, watching the Dream Lord with anger in his eyes, "If you die in the dream you wake up in reality. Healthy recovery in next to no time. Ask me what happens if you die in reality?"

"What happens?" Rory asked.

"You die, Rory," he said simply, none of the previous bite in his words, "That's why it's called reality."

"Have you met the Doctor before?" Amy eyed him, "Do you know him?"

The Dream Lord rolled his eyes, miming jabbering with his hand, "Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. Why should I answer YOU?" he nearly sneered at Amy, "You're nothing but a human."

"I'm the Doctor's companion," Amy crossed her arms, offended by the way the man was just brushing her off.

"You're not the first, you're not the last," the Dream Lord's eyes narrowed at her, growing rather annoyed with her arrogance, Rory though, tugged her back a bit, seeing that, "You're certainly NOT the first ginger either, oh no. If anything, Amelia Pond, you are merely Donna's replacement."

"My companions are _no one's_ replacements," the Doctor defended.

Rory frowned though, something about that striking him, "Am...am I a replacement for Mickey?"

The Doctor looked over at him sharply for that, unaware that Angel had told the boy about Mickey. He'd gotten so used to not really speaking at length about his past companions to his other companions that...he'd assumed Angel was the same with her friends. Mickey and Angel had been rather close, he probably would have been her companion, like Rory would have been.

"Would Angel ever replace anyone?" the Dream Lord countered with a fond smile, which seemed quite out of place given how shouty and glarey he was.

Rory shook his head though, no, he couldn't see Angel replacing anyone.

"I don't replace people either," the Doctor added.

"I know about his past companions," Amy nodded, "I saw their pictures."

"Ah yes," the Dream Lord nodded, "He's been around, our boy. And yet very much stationary. Quite monogamous when he wants to be, when he _remembers_ to be. But never mind that. You've got a world to choose. One reality was always too much for you, Doctor, that's why Angel's sister is trapped in another world isn't it?"

~oOo~

_He and Angel walked slowly up to the wall, in shock. He pressed his head against the wall, his hand resting on it like he'd done to the other side. Angel did the same, but placed her hand over his, both of them holding onto the other as they just felt the wall._

_Angel closed her eyes tightly, "I told her to stay in the TARDIS," she muttered before she started crying._

_He quickly pulled her into his arms, holding her as she sobbed. He pressed a kiss into her hair, realizing she had tried to prevent this, she HAD told Rose to stay in the TARDIS, to stay in there no matter what. It seemed like such a passing thing at the time, but now it held so much more significance, if Rose had listened…_

_He swallowed hard, pulling Angel to him even tighter as she wrapped her arms around him, the two mourning their loss._

~oOo~

The Dream Lord smirked, seeing the Doctor flinch at the reminder of Rose, "Take two and call me in the morning."

And then he disappeared.

"Ok, I don't like him," Rory muttered.

There was something uncomfortably familiar about the man. Despite how he was seemingly polite to him, not nearly as rude as to Amy or as biting to the Doctor, but still...he really didn't like the fact that the man seemed to know where Angel was and wasn't telling. What if she was in trouble? What if she needed him? Amy'd told him about what Angel had done with the vampire fish, how she'd gotten the focus off of Amy and onto herself, he'd never be able to make it up to Angel or thank her enough for keeping her word, for keeping Amy safe. He just...wanted to return the favor and try to keep Angel safe as well. She struck him as the sort to worry about everyone else first before herself, he was much the same, it was why he wanted to be a doctor, even before he'd met Amy it had been his dream to help people and take care of them.

Amy crossed her arms and looked at the Doctor, "Who is he?"

"I don't know," the Doctor sighed, rubbing his head, starting to get a migraine, "It's a big Universe."

"Why is he doing this?"

"Maybe because he has no physical form. That gets you down after a while, so he's taking it out on folk like us who can touch and eat and feel," he stood up and pulled off the jumper.

"What does he mean, deadly danger?" Rory frowned, shifting, feeling uncomfortable to face something like that without Angel there.

Unlike how the Dream Lord implied Angel was only good to the Doctor as a psychic, HE wanted her there because...he just felt better with her around. She kept him in the loop, she worried about him, she tried her best to protect him, and she just...made him feel like it would all be ok. And, in a way, she made him feel stronger, like...he could face what was coming because she'd support him, and because he needed to be stronger to protect her.

"Nothing deadly has happened here. A bit of natural wastage, obviously."

"They've all gone. They've all gone," he ran out of the door as the others followed, stopping and watching the children by a playground next to the local ruins before the kids headed into them.

"Why would they leave?"

"And what did you mean about Mrs. Poggit's act?" Amy added.

"One of my tawdry quirks," the Doctor replied, "Sniffing out things that aren't what they seem. I can do it without being psychic," he muttered that last part, a feeling of determination hitting him. He'd solve this on his own, prove to the Dream Lord he didn't like having Angel around just because of her abilities, he could work things out himself and keep people safe with just his sonic and his brain, he didn't need Angel there...he just...wanted her. He winced, wanted her THERE! Yes, yes, wanted her there, beside him, the last of the Time Lords together, "So come on, let's think. The mechanics of this split we're stuck in...time asleep matches time in our dream world, unlike in conventional dreams."

"And we're dreaming the same dream at the same time," Rory followed, recalling a few things Angel had explained to him about time travel.

"Yes, sort of communal trance, very rare, very complicated. I'm sure there's a dream giveaway. But my mind isn't working because this village is so dull! I'm slowing down, like you two have."

Amy suddenly grabbed her stomach, "Oh. Ow. Really. Ow!" she screamed, "It's coming."

The Doctor turned to Rory, "Help her, you're a doctor."

" _You're_ a doctor!" he countered.

"It's ok, we're doctors," he squatted down before Amy, holding his hands below her as if to catch the baby as it fell out, "What do we do?"

Amy stopped panicking and stood up, "Ok, it's not coming."

The Doctor straightened, "What?"

" _This_ is my life now and it just turned you white as a sheet. So don't you call it dull again, ever. Ok?"

"Sorry."

"Yeah," she walked off with Rory following.

The Doctor sighed and looked at the home once more, spotting Angel in one of the windows. He stiffened, refusing to blink this time, needing to see if there was anything he could gleam off her appearance that would tell him if she was ok. Because he was starting to worry about why she wasn't there and where she could be. But instead of looking at him, she was staring off into the distance. He frowned and looked over at the ruins to see Poggit heading for them.

He glanced back at the home but, as with before, Angel was gone.

He shook his head and walked over to where Amy was sitting on a swing set, taking the other swing before Rory could, "Now, we all know there's an elephant in the room…"

"I have to be this size, I'm having a baby," Amy said, exasperated.

"No, no. The hormones seem real, but no. Is nobody going to mention Rory's ponytail?" he slowly smiled, "You hold him down, I'll cut it off?" Amy chuckled.

"This from the man in the bowtie," Rory remarked.

"Bow ties are cool," he defended as he stood and watched Poggit watch the children, getting a bad feeling off them, and if there was one thing Angel had taught him it was to not _ever_ try to fix the TARDIS without her there...and to trust his feelings, "I don't know about you, but I wouldn't hire Mrs. Poggit as a babysitter," Poggit turned back and looked at the Doctor, "What's she doing? What does she want?"

The birdsong began again, "Oh, no, here we go," Amy groaned.

~8~

The Doctor was standing at the console as Amy and Rory joined him. Amy rubbed her arms, "It's really cold. Have you got any warm clothing?"

"What does it matter if we're cold?" he snapped, tensing, his hearts racing, "We have to know what the Dream Lord is up to!"

" _Calm down Doctor, shh, it'll be alright, I promise..._ "

He winced, swearing he could hear Angel's voice, it was...soothing, reassuring, but then again he always felt that way around her, she just...had this way of calming him, "Sorry. Sorry," he rubbed his face, this was really starting to get to him now. He was sure the Dream Lord was lying about where Angel was, the man HAD to have her and that worried him terribly, the sooner he could get this sorted and win the challenge, the sooner he could get Angel returned to him, to _them_ , yes to them, "There should be some stuff down there, have a look."

Amy turned to head down to a small alcove but Rory just looked at the Doctor, "That was rude," he told the man, giving his hoodie a defiant zip before following Amy.

The Doctor moved to the space under the console, setting an enamel mug on a box with a crank. The crank popped off so the Doctor hit the box, opening it to reveal a number of gadgets inside.

Meanwhile Amy opened a chest, looking for warm clothes as Rory came over, "I want the other life," he admitted quietly, "You know, where we're happy and settled and about to have a baby."

"But don't you wonder, if that life is real, then why would we give up all this? Why would anyone?"

"Because we're going to freeze to death?"

"The Doctor'll fix it," she threw him a blanket.

"Ok. Because we're going to get married?" he wrapped Amy in the blanket instead.

Amy giggled a bit at the sweet gesture, "But we can still get married. Some day."

"You don't want to anymore?" he frowned, fearing that might be what she was feeling, "I thought you'd chosen me, not him."

"You are always so insecure."

"You ran off with another man."

"Not in that way. And Angel was here."

"It doesn't matter if Angel was there or not because they aren't together and you tried to kiss him!"

"And Angel hugs you all the time."

"That is NOT the same thing Amy," he countered, crossing his arms, feeling a bit confused though as to why she sounded so cross when she'd mentioned Angel hugging him. They were friends, 'siblings' now, they were allowed t hug. And he knew he was most certainly NOT about to go kiss Angel like Amy had the Doctor, nope, the only woman he wanted like that was Amy, "It was the night before our wedding."

"We're in a time machine. It's the night before our wedding for as long as we want."

"We have to grow up eventually."

"Says who?" she pulled out some other blankets and headed back to the console.

The Doctor, holding some sort of handmade gadget assembled out of kitchen supplies, handed it to Rory, "Ah, Rory, wind," and then handed Amy a wire attached to it, "Amy, could you attach this to the monitor, please."

"I was promised amazing worlds," Rory sighed as Amy went to do as she was told, "Instead I get duff central heating and a weird, kitchen windup device."

"Ouch!" Amy winced, pulling her hand away as the wire port sent a small jolt of a spark at her finger.

"Right," the Doctor winced, "Amy!" he took the gadget from Rory and handed it to her instead, "Wind, Rory," he handed the boy the wire, "Attach this?"

Rory rolled his eyes but moved to the monitor, plugging the wire in with ease.

"What is this?" Amy eyed the device oddly.

"It's a generator. Get winding."

"It's not enough," Rory warned them.

"Amy, wind."

Amy sighed but wound as fast as she could, "Better?"

The Doctor squinted at the monitor, "Yup."

"Why is the Dream Lord picking on you?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, why only _us_?" Amy agreed, she'd noticed the Dream Lord's focus and disdain for her and the Doctor and his civility towards Rory too. But before he could answer, the monitor screen beeped to life to show starscape, Amy squinted at it, "Where are we?"

"We're in trouble," the Doctor admitted.

"What is _that_?" Rory frowned, seeing a ball of white burning stuff floating in space.

"A star. A cold star," he ran to the door and opened it, letting in a blinding white light and chill, " _That's_ why we're freezing. It's not a malfunction. We're drifting towards a cold sun. That's our danger for this version of reality," he closed the door and peeked out the windows of the doors at the star.

"This must be the dream," Amy said, "There is no such thing as a cold star. Stars burn."

"So's this one. It's just burning cold."

"Is that possible?" Rory asked.

"I can't know everything. Why does everybody expect me to, always?" he headed to the console and sat down dejectedly on the jump seat.

"Ok, this is something you haven't seen before. So does that mean this is the dream?"

"I don't know, but there it is, and I'd say we've got about 14 minutes until we crash into it. I think," he sighed, Angel was always better at guessing time than him, "But that's not a problem."

"Because you know how to get us out of this?"

The Doctor put on a stethoscope, "Because we'll have frozen to death."

"Then what'll we do?" Amy frowned.

"Stay calm," the Doctor replied, putting the scope on the console, careful not to let his skin touch it, not wanting another spark, "Don't get sucked in to it, because this just might be the battle we have to lose."

"Oh, this is so you, isn't it?" Rory shook his head.

"What?"

"What, a weird new star, 14 minutes left to live, and only one man to save the day. I just wanted a nice village and a family."

The Dream Lord suddenly appeared behind the Doctor, "Oh, dear, Doctor. Dissent in the ranks," he smirked, "Bet you wish Angel was here now. She's the peace keeper, the glue that holds everything together. The rock, the support. Take her away and it all falls apart, just like you will," he sighed, "There was an old doctor from Gallifrey, who ended up throwing his _life_ away, he let down his friends and..." he stopped at the sound of the birdsong, "Oh, no, we've run out of time. Don't spend too long there, or you'll catch your death here."

~8~

The Doctor squinted, putting a hand over his eyes, spotting something...

Angel!

He took off without a word, seeing her standing at the top of the stairs that led to the ruins, staring into them...but, just as he reached the steps...she was gone. How had that happened? He'd kept her in sight the _entire time_ and she was just...not there. He shook his head and rushed up the steps to the ruins, "Where have the children gone?" he looked around to see the area empty save for small piles of ash and cloth. He ran over to them, checking them with the sonic.

"Don't know," Rory called, "Play time's probably over," he turned to Amy, "You see, this is the real one. I just feel it. Don't you feel it?"

"I feel it both places," she admitted.

"I feel it here. It's just so tranquil and relaxed. Nothing bad could ever happen here."

"Not really me, though, is it? Would I be happy settling down in a place with a pub, two shops and a really bad amateur dramatics society? That's why I got pregnant, so I don't have to see them doing Oklahoma. Doctor, what are you doing? And what are those piles of dust?"

The Doctor crouched by a pile, letting it fall through is fingers, "Play time's definitely over," he remarked grimly.

"Oh, my God."

"What happened to them?" Rory's eyes widened.

The Doctor looked out into the village to see the elderly walking along the path, "I think they did."

Amy turned to look, "They're just old people."

"No. They're _very_ old people," he headed down the steps, "Sorry, Rory, I don't think you're what's been keeping them alive."

The elderly lined up along the path facing them as they headed towards them, "Hello, peasants," the Dream Lord appeared, "What's this, attack of the old people? Oh, that's ridiculous. This has _got_ to be the dream, hasn't it? What do you think, Amy? Let's all jump under a bus and wake up in the TARDIS," he looked at the Doctor with a hard look in his eyes, " _You_ first!"

"Leave her alone!" the Doctor snapped.

"Do that again. I love it when he does that. Tall dark hero, 'leave her alone.' I know someone else who happens to love that as well."

"Just leave her!" Rory tried.

The Dream Lord chuckled, "Sorry, not quite so impressive just yet," he waved his hand, "Give it time, Angel'll have you built up soon enough," and then he turned to smirk at Amy, "But I know where your heart lies, don't I, Amy Pond?"

"Shut up!" she glared, "Just shut up and leave me alone."

The Dream Lord simply looked to the Doctor, "Just like I know where _your_ hearts lie."

The Doctor frowned, "What are you talking about?"

"Angel."

Rory looked over at the Dream Lord with a small, confused frown on his face before glancing at the Doctor. What did the Dream Lord mean by that? The Doctor and Angel weren't together. He hadn't really seen much of the Doctor seeming to have an interest in Angel either. Well, except that he worried about her, a lot, and that he seemed to like having her around, and he kept bringing her up, and he got really defensive and protective and tense about her in danger, and...well, there _was_ something he'd noticed...once or twice, he swore he'd seen something in the Doctor's eye, like a tiny...sparkle, when he looked at Angel, but it was always gone instantly. And the Doctor did strike him as the person to worry and feel protective of everyone who travelled with him. But...what was the Dream Lord talking about?

"What about her?" the Doctor shook his head, "She's a friend."

"A friend?" the Dream Lord raised an eyebrow, "Yes, right, a _friend_ who's also bonded to your TARDIS."

~oOo~

_He stood in the TARDIS, looking at the console, just refueling some more, giving Rose a night home with her mum for Christmas._

_Angel popped out from under the grilling, having finished the last bit of cleaning, "All done," she grinned, taking his offered hand and hauling herself out of the hole, dropping the grilling down. She looked up at him, "Anything else that needs to be done?"_

_"Yeah," he nodded, "One more thing."_

_She waited a moment, but he said nothing, just looked at her in thought, "What is it?"_

_"Earlier…I was weakened and the TARDIS didn't work, that could be really dangerous…"_

_"Alright…so what do you want to do?"_

_"I want you to bond to the TARDIS too," he said, watching as her mouth dropped open in shock, of anything he could have said, he knew that was NOT what she expected, even being a precog._

~oOo~

"What?" the Doctor's eyes widened at that tidbit of information. He had said in Venice that Angel _wasn't_ bonded to the TARDIS, but now, hearing someone claim the opposite...well, he could have argued that it wasn't so, that it was impossible, that it just...didn't happen. Really, it _didn't_ , typically, more often, there were only two people who would bond themselves to the same TARDIS and that was NOT him and Angel. It couldn't be. But...something inside him, something in his gut wouldn't let him dismiss the thought, it was like...he just knew that it was true. But how? And what did that mean? He and Angel were NOT Mates, not at all, so...why was she apparently bound to the TARDIS.

" _You_ may not remember, but _I_ do," the Dream Lord glared, "I remember everything. Every one. Every moment, every thought, every feeling, everything."

The Doctor blinked, a suspicion hitting him, "I know who you are."

"Course you don't."

"Course I do. No idea how you can be here, but there's only one person in the Universe who hates me as much as you do."

The Dream Lord snorted, "Just wait till Angel's family comes a'knocking Doctor. When they realize what you've done."

"What do you mean? What did I do?" he frowned, seeming...alarmed that he might have done something to Angel that would anger her 'family' as the Dream Lord called them. No...he hadn't done anything that terrible...had he? No, no, it was just the Dream Lord trying to make him question himself and be distracted. Yes, that was it.

"Never mind that," the Dream Lord smirked, "Maybe you SHOULD worry about them," he nodded at the elderly.

The old people started advancing as the trio glanced at the Dream Lord before looking back, "Hi," Rory greeted them.

"Hello," the Doctor added, pausing, as though waiting for someone to say 'nice to meet you' before he shook his head, reminding himself Angel wasn't there and pushing the rush of fear and worry that raced through him down, "We were wondering where you went. To get reinforcements! Are you alright? You look a bit tense."

"Hello, Mr. Nainby!" Rory smiled at an old man, taking a step closer.

"Rory..."

"Mr. Nainby ran the sweet shop. He used to slip me the odd free toffee," Mr. Nainby lifted him up by the collar, "Did I not say thank you?" and threw him backwards into the mud, "How did he do that?!" Rory cried as he stood up quickly.

"I suspect he's not himself. Don't get comfortable here. You may have to run. Fast."

"Can't we just talk to them?!" Amy tried. The elderly opened their mouths to reveal an eye, "There is an eye in her mouth!"

The Doctor soniced them, "There's a whole creature inside her. Inside all of them. They've been there for years, living and waiting."

"That is disgusting," Rory grimaced, "They're not going to be peeping out of anywhere else are they?"

Poggit leaned forward and shot a green mist out of her mouth. Rory pulled Amy back to safety as the Doctor put himself in front of them, "RUN!" he shooted as Amy and Rory quickly fled, "Ok, Leave them," he turned to the elderly, "Talk to me. Talk to me. You are Eknodines, a proud, ancient race, you're better than this. Why are you hiding away here? Why aren't you at home?"

"We were driven from our pl..." Poggit began.

"…planet by upstart neighbors."

"So we've..." Nainby started.

"…been living here inside the bodies of old humans for...years. No wonder they live so long, you're keeping them alive."

"We were humbled and destroyed," Poggit told him, "Now we will do the same to others."

"Ok, makes sense, I suppose. Credible enough, could be real."

A man came up alongside the Doctor pushing a bike, "Morning."

Poggit shot the green mist at the man and turned him to dust, "You need to leave this planet," the Doctor turned to Poggit as the creature within her screeched.

~8~

Amy and Rory raced back to their cottage, "Wait!" Amy gasped, resting against a post for a moment, "Stop!"

Rory looked over to see some of the elderly following them, "After all I've done for the over-70s in this village," and then noticed a woman waiting for them at the front door of their house, "Ok, this is crazy. She loves me, I fixed her depression, she's just a little old lady."

"Mrs. Hammill, we don't understand..." Amy began but Mrs. Hammill just opened her mouth to reveal an alien as well, making them back away.

"I'll deal with this one, Chubs..." Rory pushed Amy back, "Now..." Hammill emitted the gas at Rory and he dashed back behind the hedges, picking up a stout piece of wood as Hammill walked towards him. He hesitated, backing up, "I can't hit her."

"Whack her!" Amy shouted. Rory whacked her, making her fall to the ground. They ran inside their home as more elderly advanced across the field towards them. Amy collapsed on the stairs as Rory locked the doors, "We just ran away," she breathed, "We just abandoned the Doctor. Don't ever call me Chubs again. We don't see him for years, and somehow we don't really connect anymore and then, then he takes the bullet for us."

"You know the Doctor," Rory went to move the coffee table to block the entrance, "He's Mr. Cool."

~8~

The Doctor half stumbled, half ran down the road as the elderly followed him, fighting off the sleep as he heard the birdsong.

" _Doctor…_ "

He could have sworn he'd heard Angel whispering to him, felt a warmth in his hand like it was being squeezed.

" _You can do it. You can beat it. Just fight!_ "

He straightened up and ran into a butcher shop, locking the door and flipping the sign to 'closed' as the Dream Lord stood behind the counter dressed as a butcher with an apron and boater, "Oh, I love a good butcher's don't you?" he asked, "We've got to use these places or they'll shut down. But you're probably a vegetarian, you big flop-haired wuss. Won't eat an animal, but you'll certainly kick a puppy wouldn't you given that you're doing it now."

The Doctor pulled a key off a shelf and tried to unlock a back door, "Oh, pipe down. I'm busy."

"Maybe you need a little sleep?" he suggested as the birdsong returned. The Doctor slipped to the floor as he leaned over the counter, "Oh, wait a moment," the song stopped and the Doctor stood, "If you fall asleep here, several dozen angry pensioners will destroy you with their horrible eye things," the Doctor slipped into the hall behind the counter with his fingers in his ears as though it would hold off the song, "Fingers in the ear? Brilliant!" the Doctor slid down the wall, "What's next, shouting boo?" he motioned for the elderly to enter, "Come in. Come in," and they did so, making their way around the counter after the Doctor, "Yes, we've got lots at 'steak' here this week. Lots at steak. Get it?"

" _Doctor please…_ "

The Doctor jumped up with a burst of energy and gripped a door, "Are these jokes wasted on you?" the Dream Lord sighed.

The Doctor made his way into a second freezer, sliding to the floor as the elderly came closer, "Wait, stop..." he reached into his pocket.

"Oh, I can't watch," the Dream Lord put his hands over his eyes. The Doctor stood with effort and flashed the sonic, unlocking the door. He locked it behind him and fell asleep as the elderly pounded on the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, was the chapter title a little misleading? :) I apologize if it got anyone's hopes up :) I hope you liked this chapter :) 
> 
> But Rory! :) I like how the TARDIS still only likes him, and I hope the Dream Lord was believable in how he's treating Rory compared to Amy and the Doctor. I also hope you like the other mentions of companions :) We've got Martha (and Sarah Jane) coming up as well ;) I definitely want to incorporate them into this series more beyond just the crossover episodes :)


	23. Amy's Choice: Waking Up

" _Doctor you've got to wake up!_ "

The Doctor jumped awake, on the TARDIS floor, with Amy and Rory on beside him. Amy clutched her blanket closer as the chill had gotten worse, "Ah, it's colder."

"The three of us have to agree, _now_ , which is the dream," the Doctor sat up, an urgent note in his voice.

He kept hearing Angel, he kept seeing her, everywhere, the Dream Lord _had_ to be lying! He had to have taken Angel somewhere, that was the only thing he could think of that would explain why he kept hearing and seeing her...well, that was a lie, really. There were times where...he got these...things. Feelings mostly, a flash of... _something_ he couldn't quite remember or even really work out, it happened so suddenly. But...at the most random times he found himself thinking of Angel or hearing her voice in his head saying something. He had been getting that feeling more and more this time though, but...it was different. The flashes of Angel in his head were different than hearing and seeing her in both worlds. The flashes always went by too quickly for him to make out or even realize what they were, but he'd _seen_ her, he'd _heard_ her, for longer than a brief moment.

The only explanation was that the Dream Lord had her too. Perhaps Angel had found a way to try and escape or was trying to break through from her world to theirs. He wouldn't put it past her, she was rather brilliant. Or maybe it was the Dream Lord's way of taunting him, of trying to make him angry, by showing him that he had control over where Angel was, that he could make/allow her to appear only when he wanted. If it was a ploy to make him angry...

It was working.

He could feel it in him, the anger rising and rising and rising and Angel...she wasn't there to calm him, to reassure him. She always did that, always had some way to make him feel better no matter what he was feeling. But she wasn't there and he was starting to get furious with the Dream Lord not just for lying but for using Angel like that. He just wanted her back, wanted her beside him, where she was meant to be. Yes, the last of the Time Lords together, standing strong. He always felt off without her around, felt this...pressure in his chest, a twisting in his stomach, a pounding in his head, whenever she was too far away from him. And with it always came a desperate need to get back to her.

In a way, it alarmed him that it was such a powerful feeling, but in another, it was understandable. They, and the TARDIS, were all they had left of their planet and people. Naturally he'd be more worried about her than normal. And right now it was becoming rather hard to concentrate on the cold when he didn't know what sort of conditions Angel might have been forced into. He knew Angel could protect herself, she had the Vortex inside her, but it would scarcely help if the Dream Lord had no body.

"It's this, here," Rory said, hoping this was the wrong word. Because, in the other one, Angel was out there somewhere, safe with Jack, whereas here...she might be trapped somewhere in the TARDIS away from them and blocked from the scanners. In Leadworth, she wasn't surrounded by the elderly.

"He could be right," Amy sighed, though she sounded slightly solemn at that, of either world, _this_ was the one she wanted badly to be the real one, "The science is all wrong here, burning ice?"

"No, no, no ice can burn, sofas can read, it's a big Universe," the Doctor countered, "We have to agree which battle to lose. All of us, now," he looked at them but they were silent, "Now. Now! Come on, come on, which is it? Which is it?"

"Which world do _you_ think is real?" Amy held up her hands in surrender, he was starting to sound snippy.

"This one," he stated, if it was this one, he knew Angel had to be somewhere in the TARDIS, the scanners were probably just down because of the Dream Lord's interference, but that would mean she was there! And if she was in the TARDIS, she was protected.

"No, the other one!" Rory argued.

"Yeah, but are we disagreeing, or competing?"

"Disagreeing."

The Doctor scoffed.

"There is no competition," Rory frowned at him.

He was actually... _certain_ about that. Which was surprising. He was certain that there was no competition. He might have, only a short while ago, been worried that the outcome he was picturing would be different, the outcome that the worlds represented him and the Doctor and that Amy's steadfast hope that the TARDIS world was real meant that she wanted a life with the Doctor instead of him. He would have been afraid of that, maybe even a trip or two ago.

But not now.

Back then he hadn't been able to believe that Amy would want him, not compared to the Doctor. But Angel's words when he first came aboard officially had really struck something in him. Angel wanted _him_ to be her companion. She wanted him to stay and saw something special in him. He'd learned from Amy about what Angel had done in past adventures, how she'd helped a Star Whale, stopped a bomb, stayed with Amy and protected all those Clerics, Angel was amazing! And for someone like her to think HE was amazing too...it had to _mean_ something. He might not see it at the moment, but, he hoped that whatever it was that was special about him would be something Amy could see too.

He was a remarkable man according to Angel, and he was going to believe it. She was psychic. So he would try to believe in himself more, even if that meant believing Amy would pick him over the Doctor. Angel had picked him over every other person on Earth, maybe, just maybe, Amy would pick him over the last Time Lord.

"Competing over what?" Amy asked, confused.

The Doctor and Rory just stared at her. She huffed and got up, rolling her eyes at them.

The Doctor glanced at his watch, "Nine minutes till impact," he muttered, standing.

"What temperature is it?" Amy looked at him as she worked on doing something to the blankets.

"Outside? Brrrr. How many noughts have you got? Inside? I don't know but I can't feel my feet and...other parts."

"I think all my parts are basically fine," Rory stated, getting up as well.

"Stop competing!"

"I'm _just_ making a statement," Rory held up his hands, before spotting a mobile lying on the console, "Can't we call for help?" he held it up.

"Yeah, the Universe is really small," the Doctor took the phone, absently flipping Martha's mobile open to see if there was even power, but no, even that was dead. And really what would he have done? He'd soniced the phone a while ago so he'd be able to call Martha, but what then? Well, he supposed she might contact Jack and Jack could pop in with a Vortex Manipulator and try to help. But the only one he could think that might be able to get the TARDIS up and running again despite what the Dream Lord had done was Angel. He winced...he rather imagined Jack would punch him in the face for Angel being a captive of the Dream Lord, "Bound to be someone nearby!" he tapped Rory on the head with it before tossing it back on the console.

"Put these on, both of you," Amy threw a blanket with a slit in the top of it at the Doctor before slipping the other one over Rory's head.

"Oh, a poncho," Rory rolled his eyes, "The biggest crime against fashion since lederhosen."

Amy put hers on, "Here we go! My boys...my poncho boys," she walked over and stood between them, "If we're going to die, let's die looking like a Peruvian folk band."

But all the false cheer faded away as they stared at the frozen star, looming ever closer on the monitor.

"We're not going to die," Rory determined.

"No, we're not," the Doctor nodded, glancing at his watch again, "But our time's running out. If we fall asleep here, we're in trouble," he paced, "If we could divide up, then we'd have an active presence in each world," and perhaps maybe one of them would be able to spot Angel too. He'd noticed Amy and Rory didn't seem able to see the girl, but maybe if he was in one world, awake, Angel was in the other where he was asleep, that...actually made quite a bit of sense, "But the Dream Lord is switching us between the worlds. Why? Why?" he couldn't fathom any reason besides trying to keep them separated from Angel, but why? Why just her, why not separate all of them into 4 worlds? It didn't make sense, "What's the logic?"

The Dream Lord appeared, pacing alongside him, in a poncho quite similar to the Doctor's, "Good idea, idiot, let's divide you three up, so I can have a few _words_ with dear little Amelia Pond. Maybe I'll keep her, and you can have Rory to yourself for all eternity, it would be a vast improvement to the current situation, well, should you manage to clamber aboard some sort of reality."

The birdsong started, "Can you hear that?" Rory asked.

"What?" Amy's eyes widened, fearful, realizing what was happening as the boys started to sway, "No."

"Amy, don't be scared, we'll be back," the Doctor promised before he and Rory slumped to the ground, asleep.

"Rory, Doctor, don't leave me."

"Amy, we're going to have so much... _fun_ aren't we?" the Dream Lord grinned darkly.

"No, please, not alone," Amy backed away from him.

~8~

Rory gasped awake to find himself on the stairs of the cottage, Amy still sleeping. There was a crash of glass in the sitting room and Rory lifted Amy under the shoulders, dragging her upstairs, apologizing every time she bumped the stairs, not willing to risk even trying to see what was going on. He could work that much out at least, the elderly were breaking in. He managed to drag her down the hall and into the center of their cheery yellow nursery, gender neutral as Amy wanted to be surprised...one of the few reasons she didn't talk much to Angel during their time back in Leadworth.

She was afraid Angel might accidentally let it slip which gender the baby was, or so she claimed. Angel had been very good about not even telling him when he practically begged her to know. The Time Lady had even gone so far as to not tell the Doctor either, knowing it would most certainly slip out of his mouth more easily than hers, so he didn't understand why Amy was so insistent in not talking to Angel at times. It was like...the Doctor appeared and she went running to greet him, not so much Angel though. But then, when HE ran to greet Angel and got a wonderful hug in return, Amy would be glaring daggers at the girl, which only he saw looking at her over Angel's shoulder.

He set Amy down, apologizing once more before closing the door. He looked over at the crib, set up and completely stuffed with toys and a windup mobile. He looked out the window to see the elderly working together to get in, some trying to break into the TARDIS. He turned and propped a chair under the doorknob for extra security and sat down nervously.

~8~

" _Just a little longer Doctor..._ "

The Doctor blinked blearily, hearing Angel whispering to him.

" _I promise, just a little longer..._ "

He shook his head, pushing himself up and listened at the door, hearing the elderly waiting on the other side, the aliens in them screeching. He pulled out the sonic, "Ok, where is it?" he mumbled, testing the sonic against the door before pulling it open and shooting out the light above the elderly with it, running off in the confusion.

He ran outside, cutting through a yard and onto a street, looking around to try and get his bearings. He was always so terrible with directions, it was one thing he often relied on Angel for and let her take control of, she was so oriented and knew just where to go. He had no idea. He hadn't really paid much attention to Leadworth when he'd been there. He turned to the side when he heard a shout to see an elderly man attacking a younger man in an old VW bus.

"Oh, help, somebody!" the man was yelling.

"You couldn't live near the shops, could you?" the Doctor huffed, not wanting to waste any more time that he really didn't have, but knowing that he couldn't just leave the man alone to that fate. He sighed, racing to the bus and pushing the elderly man away, climbing into the driver's seat as the younger man hopped in after him, "It's ok, it's only me."

He started up the bus and drove through the village, swerving a bit as he went, not quite used to actually driving a car, it had been quite a while since he'd driven a small car and not a large craft like the fire engine or the _Titanic_ , lord knew Sarah Jane had complained about his driving often enough with old Bessie. His thoughts were cut off though when he spotted two young women surrounded by elderly.

The man slid the back door open as he called from the front, "Get in, get in, get in. Quickly, quickly, over here. Quickly, come on, jump in. Quick get in now, quickly. Hurry up," the women climbed into the car as it moved, the man closing the door behind them, "Are we in?" he looked over, only to groan spotting a young family cowering just at the corner ahead and pulled over to get them, there were children there, he never did well when children were upset, neither did Angel, "Come on, let's go, quickly, all four, that's it everyone in!" and he drove off.

~8~

The TARDIS drifted closer to the freezing star, ice and frost forming all over the inside of it. Amy sat in a lonely vigil over the Doctor and Rory, ice on her as well when the Dream Lord appeared beside her, "It's rather pathetic you know," the man began, "You, sitting there, wasting your life waiting for the man who will never be what you want him to be. He always leaves you, doesn't he? Alone in the dark. Never apologizes..."

"He doesn't have to," she stood and walked away to face him, defiant.

"As though he even would," the man let out a dark chuckle, "Let me tell you a little secret Amelia Pond," he leaned in, whispering, "He never ever will. And now he's left you to me," he grinned, leaning back again, "Spooky old, most certainly _not_ -to-be-trusted me," he eyed her in a way that made her shift uncomfortably, like he was sizing her up, judging her, "Anything could happen to you."

"What do you want?!" she huffed, "Why have you taken Angel?"

"Oh," he laughed, "Worried about her eh? That's new. That's a bit rich coming from you. The girl who never gave her a second thought in, how long was it Amelia? 14 years? 14 years where your precious Doctor was with Angel."

Amy's eyes narrowed, "It was 5 minutes for them."

"Rule 1 Amelia, the Doctor lies," the man stated, smirking when he saw her shift, saw the uncertainty appear in her eyes, knowing she wasn't sure whether to trust his words that it had really been 14 years for the Time Lords, or trust the Doctor, that it was only 5 minutes, "Angel is the one who tells the truth."

Amy looked at him for that again, she'd noticed that the man seemed to have some sort of obsession or at least a fondness for Angel, he kept saying things like that, "You know something about her, something the Doctor doesn't."

"Oh the Doctor knows, he's just…forgotten."

"Forgotten what?"

"That's for me to know and him to find out," the man sighed, actually seeming weary for a moment, "He needs to find out. He needs to work it out. I _can't_ tell him what it is."

"What what is?" Amy shook her head, "Who _are_ you? The Doctor knows you, but he's not telling me who you are. And he _always_ does. Takes him awhile sometimes, but he tells me. So you're something different."

"Oh," he started laughing and clapping mockingly at her, "Is _that_ who you think you are? The one he trusts? The one who's special to him?"

"Actually, yes."

He stood up, "The _one_ girl in the Universe to whom the Doctor tells _everything_?"

"Yes," Amy started to smirk as she nodded.

He scoffed, "Sorry but you lost that contest before it even began," he shook his head at her, seeming nearly disgusted with her arrogance, "You don't even know his name," he disappeared and reappeared squatting at the Doctor's feet, "Now, which one of these men would you _really_ choose? Look at them. You ran away with a handsome hero the night before your wedding to the boy who's more than he appears," he glanced at Amy, "Look how that worked out for you, you nearly lost both. And you will lose them both if you don't make a choice. Now," his gaze hardened, "I won't have you hurt her either Amelia Pond, I will NOT stand for it!" he stood, "So you either make the right choice and give up the wrong one, or you will never ever leave this place. I will make sure of that. I will make sure you are here, alone, forever, with just...me," he smirked.

"Stop it," Amy whispered, tears in her eyes at what he was saying. She knew it was true, she knew she'd likely ruined any sort of relationship she could have had with either man. She'd been a companion to the Doctor, and then tried to kiss him, made it sufficiently awkward, made him upset and eager to resort to asking Rory along just to keep her away from him. And Rory, poor Rory, when he'd found out she'd seen it in his face, he'd been crushed at what she'd done to him.

Angel was right, she was truly lucky to have a man like Rory love her so completely and there she was, an inch away from losing the most incredible friendship she might ever have and a man who would lover her honestly and truly and faithfully for the rest of her life.

"But maybe it's better than loving and losing the Doctor," the Dream Lord sighed, cutting into her thoughts as he looked down almost sadly, "Angel knows that better than anyone," he whispered, so low Amy wasn't even sure she'd heard him right. He took a breath and shook his head, turning his attention to her again, "Pick a world and this nightmare will all be over," he stood between the two men, "They'll listen to you. It comes down to you Amelia, the only one left undecided. It's _you_ they're waiting for. They've already made their decisions, Amy's men," he scoffed, "But you know they're not _really_ your men are they. You know, deep down, that the Doctor belongs to someone else," he sighed, "It's a pity he doesn't know though," he appeared behind her, "But no matter, this is still all about you. Amy's choice."

He disappeared, leaving her alone with the two men. She bent over, straightening Rory's poncho before glancing the Doctor and taking her seat once more.

~8~

The Doctor stopped the car just in front of the local church, ushering everyone into it, "Everybody, out, out, out! Into the church, that's right. It's old, it's strong..."

~oOo~

_More creatures appeared, diving towards the church doors, but he managed to shut them only moments before they reached them. The creatures screamed as they hit the door, trying to get in._

_Everyone started to panic, talking amongst themselves as he looked around at the shadows of the creatures by the windows._

_"They can't get in," Angel called, confirming his thoughts, "Old windows and doors. The older something is, the stronger it is. Like you."_

_He would have smiled at the compliment but his mind was otherwise occupied and so he just nodded, "What else?" a creature wailed outside, "Go and check the other doors! Move!"_

~oOo~

"Don't answer the door," he added before he closed the door and drove out of the village, back towards Amy and Rory's cottage, hoping he was going the right way. He glanced up into the rearview mirror to see the Dream Lord sitting there, wearing a racecar driver's outfit.

"It's make your mind up time in both worlds," he warned.

"Bye," the Doctor snapped, "I need to find my friends."

"Friends?" the man snorted, "Is that the right word for the people you acquire? Friends are people you stay in touch with. Your friends never see you again once they've grown up. The old man prefers the company of the young, does he not?" he shook his head, "And all that does is keep Angel from her family," he tsked the Doctor, "Shame on you, though, fair dos," he shrugged, "They'll murder you within five minutes of seeing you."

"They wouldn't hurt me," the Doctor frowned, not sure why the Dream Lord was saying that, he'd mentioned something about 'Angel's family' being cross with him earlier, but he was fairly certain now that she hadn't seen any of them in quite a while.

"Don't bet your lives on it mate," the Dream Lord scoffed, "Five minutes with you and Angel in a room together and they'll be out for your blood. Just five minutes is all they'd need to see what you can't, to see what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong," the Doctor insisted, though a feeling of dread was creeping into him.

"So you think," the man merely smirked before disappearing.

~8~

The Doctor slowed to a stop just outside the cottage, the elderly attacking the house from all sides. He quickly scanned around, trying to find a way in, "Ok..." he breathed, getting out and using the van to hide himself.

~8~

Rory sat on the floor, cradling Amy's head in his lap, when she slowly blinked awake, "How did I get up here?" she asked, rubbing her head.

"I carried you," he told her, "I'm afraid you may experience some bruising."

"Where's the Doctor?"

"I don't know. I want to do something for you," he turned around and grabbed a small black bag, opening it and taking out a pair of scissors, making quick work of cutting off his ponytail.

Amy gasped, "I was starting to like it."

There was a sudden squeaking sound by the window that had them tensing and jerking to look in that direction, only to relax a moment later when they saw that it was only the Doctor climbing in the window, "It's alright," he fell out onto the floor, "I had to stop off at the butcher's."

"What are we going to do?" Rory got right to it.

"I don't know. I thought the freezing TARDIS was real but now I'm not so sure."

Amy gasped, hunching forward, "I think the baby's starting."

"Honestly?" Rory looked at her.

"Would I make it up at a time like this?!"

"Well, you _do_ have a history of..." she shot him a glare, "Being very lovely," Amy cried out in pain, "Why are they so desperate to kill us?"

The Doctor stood, "They're scared. Fear generates savagery."

Rory looked over, alarmed, when some sort of statue from their garden was hurled through the window. He quickly scrambled to his feet and rushed over, needing to make sure that on other objects were going to be thrown at them...only for Poggit to appear, breathing the green mist at him. He fell back with a groan, Amy rushing to his side as the Doctor knocked Poggit off the roof with a lamp. He whirled around to see Amy kneeling at Rory's side.

"Rory!" she gasped.

"No!" he shook his head, "I'm not ready," he began to dissolve.

"Stay."

"Look after our baby," he breathed as he dissolved to ash, looking into Amy's eyes as it happened, conveying all the love he felt for her in that one last look.

"No," Amy whispered, "No. Come back," she looked up at the Doctor, "Save him. You save everyone. You always do. It's what you do."

"Not always," he admitted, "Angel…she…"

"She's not here!" Amy snapped, "She should have been here, she should have warned us..."

"That's not all she's good for Amy," he countered, glaring a bit at how she was actually blaming Angel when the girl was likely being held captive by the Dream Lord, "And she can't see everything. She..." he swallowed hard, cutting himself off, not sure why he was getting so defensive and angry, he needed to calm down, Amy had just lost Rory, "I'm sorry."

"Then what is the point of you?" she touched the pile of ash before standing up with the help of her bureau. The Doctor moved to help her but couldn't bring himself to touch her, "This is the dream. Definitely, this one. Now, if we die here, we wake up, yeah?"

"Unless we just die," he warned.

"Either way, this is my only chance of seeing him again. This is the dream."

"How do you know?"

"Because if this is real life, I don't want it. I _don't_ want it."

She had made her decision, or really, it hadn't even been one. She knew, she realized now, where her heart had always been, why she'd always felt angry when other girls spoke to Rory, why she loved how much he loved her, why she got painful little zings when she saw him hug Angel or smile or laugh with the girl...it was because...she didn't show him, she didn't say it often enough, she didn't express how much she loved him and that might drive him away to other girls. She should have realized that she did love him, so much, but she just...got so caught up in the Doctor, Rory had been right, it blotted everything else out.

Never again, no. She was going to find Rory and she was going to give his stupid face such a big kiss that it would be permanently left in that adorable and stupid grin!

~8~

The Doctor and Amy left the house but the elderly did nothing to attack them.

"Why aren't they attacking?" she had to ask.

"Either because this is just a dream, or because they know what we're about to do," they walked towards the van and Amy stopped, facing the Doctor, "Be _very_ sure. This _could_ be the real world."

"It can't be. Rory isn't here. I didn't know. I didn't, I _didn't_ , I honestly _didn't_ , till right now. I just want _him_."

"Ok," he gave her the keys and held her hand tightly, "Ok."

Amy walked around to the driver's side, getting in and starting the car. The Doctor walked to the other side, glancing over...to see Angel standing there in a small field across from the cottage, tears in her eyes. Without a word he got into the vehicle, looking up again but Angel was gone and the Dream Lord was there instead, watching them.

"I love Rory, and I never told him, but now he's gone," Amy breathed as she turned to drive the car forwards, veering to the left and driving the car straight at the house...

~8~

A thick layer of ice covered almost everything in the TARDIS, including the three of them. The Doctor opened his eyes to see Amy slowly open hers, reaching out her hand to Rory and holding his tightly as he too woke up.

"So..." the Dream Lord appeared with a sigh, "You chose this world. Well done. You got it right. And with only seconds left. Bravo," he rolled his eyes, "But as Angel would say, fair's fair. I gave you my word, I ought to keep it. Let's warm you up," he restored the power, pulling a lever on the TARDIS, "I hope you've _enjoyed_ your little fictions. It all came out of your imagination, so I'll leave you to ponder on that Doctor," he turned to the Time Lord, now on his knees, "Pay careful attention to everything and try, just this once, do try not to be a complete moron and miss everything that's been placed in front of you. Farewell," and he disappeared.

The Doctor closed his eyes breathing deeply when he heard it...

" _Please Doctor…_ " Angel pleaded softly, " _Please, come back._ "

He opened his eyes and slowly got to his feet, working the controls, the TARDIS, oddly enough, allowing him to use them without sparking. Whether it was because the Dream Lord had left or because the box knew what he was about to do, he wasn't sure, but he wasn't complaining.

Amy and Rory pushed themselves up to a kneel, facing each other, "Something happened," Rory began, "I...what happened to me? I..." Amy just pulled him into a tight hug, "Oh. Oh, right. This is good. I am liking this. Was it something I said?" Amy released him and simply looked at him, "Can you tell what it was so I can use it in emergencies? And maybe birthdays?"

They both turned though at the sound of the TARDIS starting up again, "What are we doing now?" Amy called.

"Me, I'm going to blow up the TARDIS," the Doctor replied.

~oOo~

_"Venting the Thermal Buffer," Angel murmured, doing just that, "Flooring the Helmic Regulator, and frying the Zeiton Crystals."_

_Five's eyes widened as he tried to leap towards her to stop her, only for him to hold him back, "You'll blow up the TARDIS!"_

_"It's the only way out," he told Five._

_"Who told you that?"_

_Angel just looked up with a smile, grabbing a lever, "I did."_

_She pulled it and the room filled with a white light…_

_Fading slowly to reveal the three of them still standing there, alive and well._

_"Supernova and black hole at the exact same instant," Five breathed, staring at Angel in awe, "That's genius."_

_"Explosion cancels out implosion," he nodded, "And yes, yes she is."_

_"Matter stays constant."_

_"Brilliant!" he winked at Angel._

_"Far too brilliant," Five eyed her, suspicious, "I've never met anyone else who could fly the TARDIS like that."_

_"Trust me," he laughed, "We've never met anyone like her before."_

_Angel blushed._

~oOo~

"What?!" Rory gaped.

"Notice how _helpful_ the Dream Lord was? Ok, there was misinformation, red herrings, malice, and I could have done without the limerick, and those awful misdirecting comments about Angel, but he was always very keen to make us choose between dream and reality," he laughed.

"What are you doing?!" Amy demanded.

"Doctor!" Rory shook his head, "The Dream Lord conceded. This isn't the dream!"

"Yes, it is!" he shouted.

Amy turned to Rory, "Stop him."

"Star burning cold?" the Doctor grumbled, "Do me a favor! The _Dream_ Lord has no power over the _real_ world. He was offering us a choice between _two_ dreams."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I know who he is!"

And with that, he pulled lever and the TARDIS exploded.

~8~

The Doctor was standing, leaning against the console, looking at something in Angel's hand as she quietly explained something to him when Amy and Rory walked down the steps, confused, until...

"Angel!" Rory shouted, bounding over to the Time Lady and hugging her tightly, "Are you ok?" he asked, pulling away, worried that something terrible might have happened in whatever world the Dream Lord had put her in.

"I'm fine Rory," Angel smiled at him, touched by his concern.

"Well I suppose that answer's my question," the Doctor grumbled, "Any other questions then?"

"What's that?" Amy pointed at something in Angel's hand.

"Specks of psychic pollen from the candle meadows of Karass don Slava," the Doctor explained as Angel held out the six tiny, glistening specks in her palm, "Must have been hanging around for ages."

"I found them in the time rotor," Angel added.

"They heated up and induced a dream state for all of us," the Doctor said as Angel went to the door and blew them out to space.

"But Angel wasn't there," Amy shook her head.

"Psychic," the Doctor joked as Angel walked back.

"Thief," Angel countered.

"Her abilities allowed her to realize what it was within the first few seconds."

"Basically I woke up," Angel explained to them what she'd just finished telling the Doctor of what happened for her, she HAD been having a rather terrible dream, not that that was very out of the ordinary given everything that was happening, but she'd just bolted awake, her hand on her stomach and rushed out of her room, a bad feeling settling in her, "I came to find the three of you passed out…" she lightly whacked Rory on the arm, "Don't _ever_ do that again," she warned him as he rubbed his shoulder in jest, a small smile making its way onto his face at her concern for him, "And started trying to find what had happened. The TARDIS ran a scan, found the pollen, and I got them out. Just had to wait for the effects to wear off."

"You were trying to wake us the whole time weren't you?"

She nodded, "You were the only one who seemed to hear me though. Your eyes would flutter a bit like you were almost waking up but not quite there yet."

He nodded, well that explained why he'd heard and seen her in the dreams. He was relieved though that she hadn't been in either world the Dream Lord had created, or a third. He could only imagine what would have been in store for her there. Probably something terrible.

"So that was the Dream Lord then, those little specks?" Rory asked.

"No, no," the Doctor looked at them, "No. Sorry, wasn't it obvious? The Dream Lord was _me_. Well, my subconscious at least. Psychic pollen, it's a mind parasite. It feeds on everything dark in you. Gives it a voice, turns it against you. I'm 907. It had a lot to go on."

"But why didn't it feed on us, too?" Amy frowned, "Or Angel? She's like 800."

"Darkness in you pair?" he laughed, "It would've starved to death in an instant. I choose my friends with great care."

"Yeah, but Angel?" Rory asked, curious as well.

"Have you _met_ her?" the Doctor looked at her with a soft, fond smile that had Rory frowning...it was...the same smile the Dream Lord had when he spoke of Angel, "She's just…the light. A guiding light…" he trailed off a bit, looking at her curiously before shaking his head.

Rory nodded in agreement, he couldn't fathom Angel having a dark side either, she was just...such a kind person.

Amy, however, eyed the Doctor a moment, those words…they were the _same_ words she'd heard Angel say her love used to call her…but no…no, that guy died, passed on during that War. The Doctor couldn't be him. He was very much alive. She shook her head as well, chalking it up as a coincidence of words, she probably would have described Angel the same way if she had to, "But those things he said about you. You don't think any of that's true?"

"Um, Amy," Angel cut in, seeing the Doctor tense uncomfortably, she knew exactly what the ginger girl was talking about, she'd been able to see the dreams happening in the Doctor's mind, what was said, done, "I think Rory has a question for you," she stepped over and turned her lightly to face her fiancé, "And, I've got a feeling it'll be a life changing one."

"Yeah," Rory nodded, "Actually, yeah. 'Cos what I don't get is you blew up the TARDIS, that stopped that dream, but what stopped the Leadworth dream?"

"We crashed the camper van," Amy told him.

"Oh, right, I don't remember that bit."

"No, you weren't there, you were already..."

"Already what?"

"Dead. You died in that dream. Mrs. Poggit got you."

"Ok. But how did you know it was a dream? Before you crashed the van, how did you know you wouldn't just die?"

"I didn't."

Rory's eyes widened in realization, "Oh."

"Yeah."

"Oh," he smiled, taking her hand.

"Yeah, 'Oh.'"

Rory leaned in and kissed Amy gently and after a pause Amy kissed him back while Angel and the Doctor watched, Angel smiling widely, it seemed like Amy had finally realized just how important Rory was.

"So..." the Doctor clapped, ruining the moment in his typical bad timing, "Well, then, where now? Or should I just pop down to the swimming pool for a few lengths?"

"I don't know," Rory smiled, "Anywhere's good for me. I'm happy anywhere. It's up to Amy this time. Amy's choice."

The Doctor clapped his hands again and started to work the controls with Angel. Amy and Rory moving to the doors to look outside and make sure they weren't near a cold star anymore, just to be safe. The Doctor looked down to see the Dream Lord staring back at him in the reflective surface of the console before he looked up and at Angel, something nagging him, "Angel," he called her over.

"Yeah?" she asked, making her way to him as she worked the controls as well.

"The Dream Lord…he said you were bonded to the TARDIS," he told her quietly, "And I checked," he gestured at the monitor, "You _are_."

She tensed a moment, not quite sure how to handle this question, she was terrified, really and truly terrified to bring up the Mating to him. Every time he denied her it was a knife in the hearts, and she just...she didn't want it to hurt anymore, she didn't want him to keep doing that, so...she couldn't let herself be in a position where it happened, not till she could work out what had even happened and how to fix it. Two people would bond to the same TARDIS because they were Mates, in almost every single instance, but there were one or two very small exceptions, like there seemed to be for every rule. And, given that they were the last two of their people and the only ones who could bond to a TARDIS, well...she swallowed, steeling herself.

"You you remember the regeneration before last?" she began delicately, almost wanting to judge by his reaction if she should mention the Mating or not, "When you lost your hand?"

He nodded, shrugging absently, like it was no big deal, "Yeah."

Her expression fell just a bit at that, at seeing the glimpse in his mind of it being just an 'average day at the office' so to speak, nothing remotely special about it. She sighed, "You asked me to bond to the TARDIS to make her stronger, in case that happened again..."

"Oh," he nodded with a small frown, "Sorry, I...I forgot about that…" he looked down, in thought, he'd been noticing, some of the things the Dream Lord mentioned had sparked something in him, something he hadn't really given much thought to, "Sometimes, when I think back, there are snippets that are…fuzzy, I can't quite make out…probably just me getting on, head too full of other stuff but..." he trailed off a bit before clapping with a grin, "Oh well, can't be too important if I forgot it eh?"

How she managed to keep the small smile she'd forced onto her face from crumbling completely she had _no ide_ a especially as her hearts were breaking at the same time, "No," she agreed, her voice cracking just a bit, though he didn't notice, "No, I suppose not," she blinked quickly, feeling tears coming to her eyes but refusing to cry, not this time, no, "So I suppose Rory _is_ my companion then?" she asked, needing something, needing 1 good thing in the bad.

"I guess he is," he laughed.

Angel nodded, "I think I might go get some sleep. You lot may have had a few hours of rest but I nearly went mad trying to wake you all."

"Course," he nodded, "I'll send Amy or Rory when we pick the next adventure."

He hadn't even looked up as she walked out into the halls. She quickly went down the halls and shoved her way into her room, collapsing back against the door and falling to the floor, closing her eyes tightly, trying to will the tears away, not wanting to cry any longer no matter how much it hurt.

'Can't be too important…' he'd said.

She took a breath, opening her eyes to look at her ceiling, lightly starting to rub her stomach, "Don't worry…" she whispered to the son or daughter growing inside her, likely not even bigger than her thumbnail or something at that point, she didn't really know, "We'll figure something out. I promise…it'll be alright…" she swallowed hard, trying to be strong for it, "It has to be."

And it had to be, because she didn't think she'd be able to make it if it wasn't.

~8~

Rory yawned as he entered the console room to see Angel at work on the controls, fixing them as he often found her doing, "Hello," he smiled in greeting, really unable to stop smiling since they'd woken up ages ago, or what felt like ages ago. For having been asleep they all felt like they'd been awake and running through two different adventures. He'd been about to go to sleep, but just wanted to check on Angel first. He knew how the adventure had affected him and Amy and the Doctor, but Angel hadn't been there and he just wanted to make sure she was alright and hadn't been too worried about them. He'd turned around from checking to see if the star was outside to see that Angel had disappeared. It worried him.

"Hi Rory," she greeted, a smile of her own on her face.

He frowned, "What's wrong?" he blinked, it was that smile, it was a sad smile. It was one he saw on quite a few faces where something was wrong but you didn't want to worry others.

"Nothing," she looked back down at the controls she was soldering.

Rory walked over to her, gently putting a hand on hers to stop her, "Come on Angel," he nudged her a bit, "I'm your companion, you can tell me."

She looked up at him, realizing...she really could. It was just...she'd been, well, felt, alone for so long that...she was almost surprised Rory had noticed her, that he'd wanted to try and help her. She smiled at that, try and tell her her companion wasn't amazing now!

"It really isn't anything important," she shrugged.

"You're my Pilot," he countered, " _You're_ important to me."

She blinked, touched by that, by the conviction in his voice, the genuine quality, the honesty in his eyes, she really was important to him wasn't she? Well, it made sense, he was important to her too, "I just...had a bad dream is all."

"Because of the pollen?"

"Not entirely," she sighed, "It made it seem a bit more real, but, I've had this dream before too. And, being psychic..."

"You're worried it's a vision and not just a recurring nightmare?" he guessed.

"How'd you know?" she joked, nudging him playfully, "Are you psychic too?"

"No, no," he laughed, before looking at her seriously, seeing that, for al her joking, whatever her nightmare had been about really had shaken her, "What was it about?"

"It was just...some old friends," she tried to be vague, really not wanting to get into too much detail and have to think of her dream again, "My..." she swallowed hard, "My older brother Jack."

Rory was silent a moment, as though sensing her reluctance to really go in detail about it, "So call him," he handed her a phone that was actually attached to the console this time, like a landline, "I know when I have a nightmare about someone, calling them and seeing that they're ok helps a lot."

Angel looked at the phone, almost worried, but...she took it, trusting him. She stepped closer, Rory backing away so she could reach the keypad for it, dialing a number and holding the phone to her ear.

"Yello," a man with a distinct American accent called.

"Jack?" Angel whispered, blinking quickly, feeling her breath leave her at the sound of her 'brother's' voice, feeling tears in her eyes for an entirely different reason than earlier.

"Angel!" he cheered, "To what do I owe this pleasure."

But Angel was quiet, her eyes closed as Rory watched her intently, concerned.

"Ang?" Jack called again, softer, "Angel, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she spoke quickly, "Um..." she took a breath, trying to keep from crying entirely, this was about her brother this time, about her family, "I just...had a bad dream and...I had to call you."

"I'm fine Ang," Jack reassured her, "Whatever the dream was, it was just a dream."

She nodded to herself despite him not being able to see her, "Jack?"

"Yeah Ang?"

"...who am I?" she asked, her voice cracking, "To you? Who am I to you?"

Jack was silent a moment, as though confused as to why she was asking him that, "You're Angel, a Time Lady, Mate of the Doctor, who also happens to go by Angie Harkness, my little sister."

She closed her eyes, letting out a breath, "Thank you Jack," she breathed.

"Angel what brought that on?"

"I just um," she swallowed, feeling a little better though still upset as she remembered the dream, "I dreamt that you forgot me," she looked down, "That all of you, Torchwood, Martha, Mickey, Donna, Sarah Jane, just...everyone, didn't remember me. At all," she added that last part quietly.

It had been a terrible nightmare, one that kept seeming more and more real each time she had it. Her visiting them, and none of them knowing who she was, at all. Not like the Doctor remembering her but not who she was to him, but just...completely unknowing of her. Like she'd never even met them.

Jack laughed, startling her a moment, "Like that could EVER happen Ang! You're way too important to ever be forgotten."

She had to smile at how ironic that was that the person most important in her life HAD forgotten her in a way.

"You know what," Jack continued, "Why don't you come visit? Things have been pretty quiet around here lately, maybe swing by with the Doctor and shake things up."

She smiled at that, "We might yeah," she nodded, she missed him so much! "With our latest companions," she smiled at Rory who smiled back, seeing her cheering up a little.

"Ooh, companions, plural," Jack said and she could almost hear the smirk in his voice, "The more the merrier Ang."

"Thanks Jack," she nodded.

"No problem at all Angie, you call whenever you need me and I'll find a way to get to you."

"I know."

"Good. I'll see you soon then?"

"Yeah, soon."

"Brilliant! See ya round Angie!"

"Bye Jack," she laughed, slowly hanging up the phone.

"Bit better?" Rory asked, having only been able to hear her side of the conversation, but able to gleam enough to work out what was wrong.

Angel just shook her head and turned, jumping up as she hugged him tightly, Rory's arms immediately winding around her as he hugged her back, smiling, pleased she was happy again.

"Thank you so much Rory," she whispered.

"You're very welcome Angel," he nodded, closing his eyes as he just held her, the two of them just...hugging, content and happy that they were there for each other.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Doctor...you kill me :'( And frustrate me :( But did you like the slightly lighter note I ended on? Yay Rory/Angel bonding moment :) Originally it ended at the 'wanting things to be alright' line, but I really wanted that last scene to be somewhere in there :)
> 
> But here's a question...is Angel's dream just a dream? Or a vision of the future? }:)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this Angel-lite episode, there's definitely a reason for it being this way though which we'll find out soon :) Sort of a semi-simple reason why Angel wasn't anywhere, but I thought you all deserved a break from the massive twists and complex scenarios, a nice simple reason for once lol :) Psychic cancels out psychic, she was just immune enough to its effects to wake herself up before it took hold of her :) But even if she had been affected, I do think that she'd likely be in a happy world and not in danger, perhaps with a one-on-one conversation with the Dream Lord/the Doctor's subconscious about what's happened :)


	24. The Hungry Earth: Rio?

There was a small village nestled in a small valley in small portion of South Wales...with a very _large_ drill dominating the landscape, easily able to be seen from quite the distance. A middle-aged man sat in front of a row of quaint houses reading a book with his son, well, more like to his son, "'But who is this creature with terrible claws," he read while his wife walked towards them with a smile, watching the two of them, "Terrible teeth in his terrible jaws?' Go on," he nudged his boy, "Your bit...he...he has...go on!"

"I can't do it, dad," the boy sighed, knowing his father was just trying to help him, but dyslexia made it so difficult to read what was in front of him. And when he got frustrated it made it hard for him to focus, listening to things came much easier and he remembered more so he motioned to the headphones around his neck, "I can _listen_ to books, anyway."

"I know it doesn't come easy, son, but you've got to keep at it, alright? You're not on your own with this," it always made him feel so down and...useless, to see his son struggling to read, to know there was nothing he could do to make it better other than try to help encourage him. Parents were supposed to make things better, especially fathers, but this was something he knew only his son would be able to face and work on.

"Mo, you'll be late for your shift," his wife cut in gently, handing him a packaged meal to take with him.

"Oh, you're right!" he checked his watch and quickly stood, putting the meal in his pack and looking down at his son, "Sorry, El, got to go. Now, who loves you more than me?"

His son smiled, "No one. "

"Stop saying that!" his wife cried jokingly.

Mo just laughed and kissed his son on the head before giving his wife a peck, waving at them as he headed over to his bike. He got on and rode it through the little valley, towards the drill. He made it there in record time, passing a line of workers in safety vests, and walking over to two other people who were watching the screens of the progress the drill was making, one was an older Indian woman, the other an older man.

"Approaching stage four," another man reported to them, "Target drilling depth. Stage four target drill depth scheduled in five, four, three, two, one. Stage four target drill depth achieved. Drill depth now 21 kilometers."

The two hugged in celebration, "Hi!" the woman called into a phone, speaking to her backers, knowing they would want to know whenever a new stage was reached, "Nasreen here, just to let you know we have just hit our new target!"

"21 kilometers, folks!" the old man announced into the intercom for all the workers, wanting them to feel proud of themselves, "Further than anyone's ever drilled into the Earth," the workers congratulated each other at the words, "Thanks for your amazing work. Have a great weekend! Onwards and downwards!" he hung up the comm..

"How much further do you think we can we go, Mack?" Nasreen asked him.

"Into the unknown! Exciting, isn't it?"

She nodded, "Yeah."

They hugged again as Mo laughed and walked over to them, "Aye, aye! Stop that! The real worker's here now!"

"Evening, Mo!" Mack greeted.

"21k?" he hugged him, knowing how much this progress meant to the both of them, "You wanted to grab all the glory before I come on shift!" and then hugged Nasreen, "Right, off you go, get out, my gaff for the night."

The odd couple laughed and left him to his work.

~8~

Mo sat in front of the monitors, mostly just waiting. That was his job, guard, make sure the drill ran for the night, make sure no one snuck in and tried to sabotage it, make sure things just ran smoothly and on autopilot. He smiled, pulling out his meal, reading the book he'd been reading with his son that he'd forgotten to give back, "Brilliant."

And then everything began to shake and vibrate.

He looked at the screen, alarmed, especially when the drill seemed to stutter. But just as quickly as it started, the shaking stopped, though the security cameras went down one by one.

Mo sighed and moved out to investigate, leaving his meal by the monitors, using his torch as the electricity over head flickered. He paused with a frown when he spotted a hole in the storeroom floor that had steam rising from it, "That is mad," he breathed, reaching out with his hand to it but stopped when he accidently dropped the torch...and it fell right through the dirt.

He dug for it, when something pulled at his arm from beneath the dirt. He struggled, yanking himself free and crawling away with a gasp, only to be pulled back towards the hole by his legs until he was sucked down into the dirt with a scream...

~8~

Angel laughed at a story Amy was telling them all about how she had first realized Rory liked her, how she'd thought he was gay till her best friend Mels had pointed it out. They were all sitting in the kitchen of the TARDIS, the Doctor insistent on making them all breakfast for some reason. And, after his third attempt at flipping a pancake ended up on the ceiling, Amy had taken to entertaining them all with stories to pass the time and take their minds off their hunger till the Doctor managed to actually make something else that was edible. Rory seemed to be enjoying the story, which, to be honest, surprised Amy just a little, thinking he'd be embarrassed about it. But there he was shaking his head and interjecting random facts that she had skipped over in her own embarrassment. She was pretty sure that it had something to do with Angel's laughter. She noticed, at first, that Rory was flushing with the expected embarrassment, but when Angel had started to smile and laugh and patted his arm, he'd started to really get into the story as well. It was like he was happy that his story was making Angel smile and laugh...which, to be honest, she had a sneaking suspicion might have been why the Doctor had nearly burned down the kitchen during his attempt at making bacon.

The Doctor kept glancing over at them with this...frown on his face, directed mostly at Rory. It had actually been there since Rory had wandered in with Angel. She'd found the girl in the console room, having what looked like a one-sided conversation with the TARDIS and asked her if she would like some breakfast. She was in a cooking mood that morning and had offered to make it for the four of them herself. Angel had smiled and nodded, asking if she knew how to make pudding. Which had confused her and, as she'd mentioned to Angel, said that pudding wasn't a breakfast food. To which Angel had merely said that she knew, but she wanted to add it to a slice of toast with cucumber slices on it, like jam, and make a small sandwich. She'd nearly blanched at that, but recalled how odd Time Lord tastes seemed to be and brushed it off as that, fish fingers and custard after all.

They'd run into the Doctor and, upon finding out that breakfast was looming and that Angel was going to help, he'd determined HE should make it.

Angel had just shaken her head, apparently he still remembered how terrible a cook she had been in her last bodies. She honestly wasn't sure if she might be a better cook this time, but she supposed she'd have to wait and see during the next meal. She'd offered to go and get Rory, have him join them, and that was when the frowny face had appeared. Amy had noticed, ever since then, he kept shooting these little looks at Rory, like he was cross with the man, he'd actually been like that the last few adventures really, been a bit short with Rory, though none of them knew why. So that was another reason to tell the stories, to try and cheer Rory, who had noticed the Doctor's temperament towards him, up.

Angel's grin though faded a bit when the smell of the cheese adding to the omelet the Doctor was making reached her. One hand went to her stomach while the other rested on her mouth for a moment, "Excuse me," she said quickly, getting up and dashing out of the room. The TARDIS brought up the nearest bathroom as soon as she ran around a corner that also shifted before her and she dashed in, heading straight for the toilet and emptying her stomach.

She had been _so close_ to avoiding this. The last few mornings her upset stomach had gotten worse to the point where she almost would call it morning sickness. She hadn't quite thrown up yet till now, but she could tell, whether it was being psychic or her intuition, that this would be the start of many such mornings. She coughed a bit before wiping her mouth off and sitting back against the wall as the toilet flushed itself. She drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, her head resting on the wall as she just...breathed deep, not wanting to move for a few more moments till she was sure her stomach had settled more.

But then there was a gentle knock on the door, "Angel?" Rory called, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine Rory," she said back, though her throat was a bit raw from the sudden and unexpected regurgitation.

"Can I come in? I _am_ a nurse you know."

She laughed at that, "Yeah."

The door opened and Rory walked over to her, kneeling before her and checking on her. She looked fine, not pale or shaky or sick, but...that hadn't explained her sudden departure, "Come on," he helped her up, "The Doctor asked me to check on you."

She shook her head, she should have known that was it. Well, she knew Rory well enough to know that he would have come anyway to see if she was ok. But she should have known that the Doctor would send someone else, this new him had always been a little...distant with her. And, in a way, in a surprising way, she was...glad that he had, sent someone else that is. She didn't want him to see her being ill, even being distant, he'd still be worried and he'd ask all sorts of questions and things and right now she just...didn't want to have to deal with that, she could feel her emotions getting the best of her, like in the forest, even just thinking on if it had been the Doctor to come made her feel irritated that he would have asked questions and sad that he hadn't come and happy he wouldn't ask questions and hurt that he hadn't come and stung from what he'd said after the whole psychic pollen event. She was just a wreck so she was rather glad that it was Rory there, nice and calm and understanding Rory.

"Do you have a med-bay or anything?" he continued as they stepped into the hallway.

"Why?" she frowned, if a little nervously.

"The Doctor asked me to check on you. And I know he probably meant just see where you went, but I want to run some tests and make sure you're really ok."

"You don't have to Rory. It might just be...an alien stomach bug or something," not a complete lie, it _could_ have been that, even though she knew it wasn't. She was just...she didn't know what she'd do if someone else found out. She...she wasn't sure she wanted anyone else to know. What would they do if they did know? How would they treat her? The Doctor was oblivious, this Doctor was more than a bit thick, much like he'd claimed the clockwork droids were, but even he would notice if someone kept staring at her stomach and trying to keep her back and wanting her to rest and commenting on her eating habits and things.

But...then again...he HAD looked at Amy, the 'size of a planet' Amy, and not noticed she was pregnant. She'd seen that in his dream. She felt like that might have been another subconscious reason he hadn't noticed any of the changes in her lately. Mating often, not always but often, led to conception. He didn't remember they were Mated, at least not his conscious mind, and so...no child. And if, deep deep deep down, he remembered, his mind was keeping him from seeing her pregnant, from realizing the chance of a child being created, no child meant no Mating. Or at least that was the impression she got.

And...the Dream Lord had actually given her another theory. The way the man had pushed for Amy to realize how much she loved Rory...the love she could now see in Amy's eyes as she realized it...it made her think of the last Doctor, how much he had claimed to love her. What if...what if he was just...possessive? What if the last him had just...wanted her all to himself, wanted her to be just with him? He had voiced a concern or two about that, about her walking away with another man, when they'd spoken with Wilf. Maybe...maybe he just hadn't wanted her to be with anyone else but him, just him, not even the next him?

She wasn't sure how true that was though. It was a nice thought, that he had loved her so much he just...didn't want her to be with anyone but HIM. But the more she was around the new him, the more she started to fear that this was the real him, that he only really saw her as a friend and it was just...an affect of the regeneration that had made the last him so attached to her and so eager to Mate with her. She couldn't imagine anyone forgetting someone the loved the way the Doctor had. Not if they truly loved them.

"Maybe," Rory shrugged, pulling her out of her thoughts once more, "But you've taken really good care of me and Amy, let me take care of you yeah?" he nudged her a bit with a small smile, "Besides it's not often _I_ get to help my Pilot."

She laughed, how could she argue with that? "Alright."

They turned a corner to find a single door at the end of it which opened to reveal the med-bay. It was a small little room with an examination table and quite a number of scanners and cabinets all stocked with items. Rory blinked at the amount of medical tech around, quite a few alien products, and shook his head, "Just lay here," he told her, gesturing at the table, before looking around to try and find items he was familiar with.

Luckily though he found quite a few that he could recognize from Earth and got to work.

~8~

Angel was sitting on the examination chair while Rory looked at the results that had printed out of one of the scanners. He'd done a basic check of her temperature, hearts, a general examination, before taking a blood sample to check the different levels in it. She watched him carefully as he read the results, knowing exactly what else could be found in a blood test, when it happened.

His eyes widened and he looked at her, gaping, "Angel…you're pregnant."

"I know," she said, resting her hands on her stomach, just enough for him to see the infinitesimally small bump of her stomach having decided to forego wearing another belt, knowing how flowy her dress was hid all signs of it.

"Oh my God," he breathed, walking over to her and placing a hand over hers, just...staring at her, completely stunned. According to the scan she was about 9 months pregnant, though she didn't look it. But then again, the scan had said 9/36, which he interpreted to mean 9 of 36 months, so that would give Time Lords a gestation of about 3 years. So...in those terms, she looked a little more than 2 months pregnant.

"You can't tell anyone Rory," she told him softly, taking his hand resting on hers in both of them, squeezing his hand, looking at him pleadingly, "Patient confidentiality, that's a thing with doctors and nurses right? Please, I don't want anyone to know, not Amy, _not_ the Doctor."

It would literally kill her for the Doctor to learn she was pregnant and ask 'who's the father?' as though he didn't know. Because he wouldn't know and she just...she was barely standing him being how he was now, had been feeling even worse before Rory joined them, but she knew she wouldn't be able to handle the Doctor's reaction to her pregnancy. Especially because of their biology.

"But…how?" Rory asked, shaking his head.

While the Doctor and him had been making their way under the Calvierri school, the Doctor had muttered away about the kiss Amy had given him, how he'd pushed her away, how it had felt wrong, but then...he'd added something that he'd just brushed off. About how a relationship between a human and Time Lord wouldn't have worked anyway, not that he had really wanted to hear that, then he might have thought that the Doctor had considered a relationship with Amy. Now he knew the man just tended to ramble about everything. But what the Doctor had said about just WHY a relationship of that sort wouldn't work HAD stuck with him.

It was because the DNA wasn't compatible to produce children.

Time Lords were one of the few species that _had_ to keep within its own to procreate. Humans could go out there and match quite a few other species, even certain animals could cross that. But not Time Lords, they'd evolved to the point where only their own people were compatible to each other. A child could NOT be conceived between a Time Lord and a Human Being or a Time Lord and anyone else besides another Time Lord.

So how had Angel?

Because he knew that she'd travelled with the Doctor before Amy had met them, Amy and Angel had both told him as much. Angel had gone a bit further when she'd brought up the War, telling him that the other Time Lords were gone long before they'd met Amy. She had mentioned one other Time Lord but that had been ages ago, far too long ago for this stage in her pregnancy, and the last time they'd met a Time Lord it had only been for a short while to stop the man destroying the world. So, really, there wasn't any other Time Lord besides...

Oh.

Dear.

Lord.

" _The Doctor's the father_!?" he shouted.

"Shh!" Angel hissed, reaching forward and pressing a hand across his mouth, " _Rory_!"

He mumbled something against her hand before rolling his eyes and pulling her hand away, "But I thought the two of you weren't…" he shook his head, that really didn't matter, he'd had mates in University who hadn't been 'together' with a girl and still gotten them pregnant. Not that he thought the Doctor or Angel had randomly gotten that smashed as to do something like that, but that wasn't the point. It didn't matter how it happened, what did matter, to him at least, was, "Why don't you want him to know?!"

Angel looked at him sadly for a moment and he instantly felt bad for asking, perhaps the way it happened really was important.

"Rory," she began, squeezing his hand with the one still holding it, "What would you do if Amy ever forgot you?"

He frowned, "What do you mean?"

"If Amy ever forgot you. What would you do if she remembered who you were, but forgot that she loved you?"

He blinked, about an inch away from realization...

When there was a banging on the door.

"RORY!" Amy shouted through it, "Come on! The Doctor thinks he's _finally_ got the course for Rio right!"

It hadn't even really been a debate, which trip to take next. Rory was well aware she wanted to visit Jack, introduce him and Amy to the man, just...see him again. And she had promised to see him soon. But Amy had been dying to go to Rio, it had been one of their potential honeymoon spots that they were thinking of going to. They'd chosen another place, but Rio had been the second option. HIS choice had ended up the first. As soon as Angel had heard that she had refrained from asking the Doctor if they might visit Jack next and insisted they go to Rio first. She had said _soon_ , and with a time machine, soon could be after Rio but five minutes after Jack had gotten the call. Rory had been touched that Angel cared enough for Amy to agree to Rio first and Jack second, he knew how much that nightmare had shaken her up.

They had, admittedly, gotten a bit lost between the phone call and actually getting to Rio, quite a few trips really. But still, Angel refused to go see Jack till Amy got to Rio, and the Doctor agreed, if they didn't get it this time, she could pilot the next time.

"Coming!" he called to her, before he looked back at Angel, only to frown, seeing tears in her eyes, "Angel…what's wrong?"

He'd seen women at the hospital finding out they were pregnant, talking about their pregnancies, he saw tears on them quite a few times. But these tears...they weren't happy tears.

Angel was quiet for a moment, biting her lip, wanting to tell Rory what had happened exactly, why she was so upset about her last question but...there was actually something even more pressing on her mind, something that really, _really_ got to her and something she really...needed someone for, "I'm scared," she breathed, her voice shaking.

"Of what?" he stepped closer to her side, putting a hand on her back, rubbing it, trying to calm her, seeing her getting so upset.

"My mum…she tried _so hard_ to have a baby, but she had _a lot_ trouble conceiving and…she lost them," she explained, "I was her last attempt, her miracle baby, it's why she called me her angel. She thought her luck might have changed after me and she tried for my sister…let's just say I had a few brothers and sisters between me and her," she shook her head, "They didn't make it. My sister, she didn't have trouble conceiving but…she lost _three_ of them before she had my nephew," she blinked and the tears started to fall, "Pregnancies have _never_ been easy in my family and I…I just…I don't want to lose my baby," she wept, her body shaking, "I _can't_ lose it Rory, I _can't_ …it's _all_ I have left…"

It really was.

She'd never given thought to being a mother on Gallifrey, not even after the Doctor asked her to Mate with him, not even after the actual Mating had finished. She had briefly thought of it, lamented of the lost possibility, when she'd been dying. But other than that...she'd never imagined...and now, to find herself pregnant...she didn't know what to do or how to feel. She was so confused. She felt...happy, because it was a baby, a little life inside her, one that had been made of such amazing love. But sad, because that love had seemed to be snuffed out, erased. Scared because she knew the chances of her losing it were incredibly high given her family history. Heartsbroken because the father didn't even remember creating it. And...desperate. Desperate not to lose it. It was all she had left of the Doctor's old self, all she had left of the man who loved her, it was a little piece of him that lived on.

If she lost that...it would be like she'd lost him completely.

Rory nodded to himself and hugged her tightly, feeling tears in his own eyes for the state she was in, "Hey," he pulled away a little, cupping her cheek with a hand, "Look at me, Angel, look at me," she looked up and his heart broke at the fear in her eyes, "I'm a _nurse_ , I'm _very_ good with pregnancy," he smiled, "You just leave it to me and everything'll be fine, ok? I'll make sure nothing happens. I promise," he crossed his heart, "I will _never_ let anything happen to you Angel. Trust me."

She took a breath and nodded, starting to wipe off her tears ,when Rory did it for her with his sleeve, making her laugh. She grabbed his hand though when he tried to pull away, "Rory…" he looked at her, "It's been a _very_ long time since I've had a companion. I DID ask but, they said no or changed their mind or just…things happened," she took a breath, "I always felt like it happened for a reason, like I was waiting for this _incredible_ person to be my next companion…and do you know what?" he shook his head, "I was right, because YOU, Rory Williams, are incredible," she pulled him to her and hugged him, "And I'm SO glad it was YOU."

He smiled into the hug and shook his head, leave it to Angel to be a right old mess, crying and scared, and STILL manage to make HIM feel remarkable too, "Me too," he whispered, dropping a chaste kiss onto the top of her hair.

"Please," Angel whispered to him, " _Don't_ tell them."

He pulled away and looked at her a moment, her eyes so wide and pleading, before sighing, "I won't."

And he wouldn't.

She was _trusting_ him with this information, with this news that not even _the Doctor_ knew. He knew the man likely deserved to know what was going on, but...it wasn't his secret to tell. And...as terrible as it probably was to think...he felt a little...happy, that he was the only one who knew for the moment. It...made him feel special. And so, he wouldn't betray her trust, not when she had so much of it in him. She was his Pilot, he was her nurse, he would take care of her and he could do this for her. He wouldn't ask her what happened either, with her and the Doctor, he'd seen her starting to get upset when he'd started asking earlier, she was in a delicate state at the moment, he wanted to give her a moment to calm down and settle first. He hated seeing her so upset.

"Thank you," she gently slid off the table.

"But after we leave Rio," Rory pointed at her, "I want to know everything ok?"

She nodded, moving to hug him tightly one more time, accepting of that. She...she actually felt better that someone knew. No, that Rory knew. She'd been keeping things in for so long, that...maybe it would help to talk to someone. She knew she didn't have time to tell him everything right now, she knew they'd been interrupted from her telling him about the Doctor's memory loss, but...they had a time machine, they had all the time in the world. And when they'd left Rio, or whatever other adventure was waiting for them, she'd tell him, she would. And maybe, just maybe, she'd feel better. Maybe Rory would even be able to help her! He was so brilliant and, as a nurse, maybe he'd dealt with people with amnesia before. Maybe he could help figure out what had happened to the Doctor and how to help get him back.

The Dream Lord...he'd remembered. She'd seen that in his dreams, she'd seen it, she realized what the man had been talking about all that time even if the Doctor hadn't. There was only so much the subconscious could remind the conscious mind of, it was limited. It was like he was a manifestation of the niggling you'd get when you'd forgotten something but not remembered what it was you'd forgotten. But at least now she knew...the memories were there. She just had to find a way to get them back.

"Thank you Rory," she repeated in a whisper.

He smiled gently at that, giving her one more squeeze, "No problem," before they walked out of the med-bay.

~8~

The TARDIS doors opened quickly, "Behold..." the Doctor grinned as Amy, Rory, and Angel stood behind him, "Rio!"

Amy and Rory took a cautious step out and...into a cemetery, "Nuh-uh," Amy grimaced at the sight and the chill in the air.

"Not really getting the sunshine carnival vibe," Rory nodded, looking around at the gravestones scattered around, other stone structures partially in ruins, and the chill...certainly not Rio.

"No," Angel stepped out but stopped short and looked down at the ground with a frown, "That's wrong."

The Doctor eyed her a moment, seeing her curious look, and moved out of the TARDIS, immediately feeling what she had, "Oh, feel that, though, what's that?" he bounced up and down, "Ground feels strange...wait...that's weird."

"What's weird?" Rory looked over but the Doctor ignored him.

"Doctor, stop trying to distract us," Amy rolled her eyes, "We're in the wrong place!" but the Doctor just ran around to the other side of the church the TARDIS had set down in front of as Amy kept talking, the trio following him, "Doctor, it's freezing and I've dressed for Rio. We are _not_ stopping here," he knelt down and plucked up some blue grass growing in patches around the gravestones, "Doctor! You listening to me? It's a _graveyard_! You promised me a _beach_."

"That's why you should have waited for _me_ to set the course," Angel patted her on the shoulder before walking past her to kneel down by the Doctor.

"Blue grass," he mumbled, "Patches of it all round the graveyard. So, Earth, 2020-ish…"

"2020 exactly," Angel corrected.

He nodded, "Ten years in your future, wrong continent for Rio, I'll admit, but it's not a massive overshoot."

Amy looked over when she caught sight of two people on the other side of the valley waving at them in the corner of her eye, "Why are those people waving at us?"

The Doctor took a pair of binoculars from his pocket, "Can't be…" he looked through them as Rory started to wave back, "It is! It's you two."

"No, we're here," Rory pointed between him and Amy, "How can we be up there?!"

"Time travel Rory," Angel smiled, standing up, blinking a bit as she swayed, Rory moving to her side, seeing it, and putting an arm around her shoulders for support. He knew it was another small sign of the pregnancy, he'd seen it happen to quite a few women in the waiting rooms, when they sat or stood too quickly they got a bit light headed for a moment.

"Ten years in your future," the Doctor smiled, still looking through the binoculars, "Come to relive past glories, I'd imagine. Humans," he laughed, turning to glance at them, "You're..." but cut himself off quite suddenly when he saw Rory with his arm around Angel, "Nostalgic," he muttered, turning sharply back to look at the future thems, making Rory frown at the motion, he'd noticed the Doctor was a bit...more rude to him than normal lately.

"We're still together in ten years?" Amy gaped.

"No need to sound so surprised!" Rory retorted.

"You'll be together forever Amy," Angel smiled at her sadly, "You and Rory together, as it should be."

Amy grinned at that, the Doctor eyeing her a moment, as though confused as to why SHE wasn't more cross with Rory standing there with his arm around another woman, but Amy just gave a small cheer, "Hey, let's go and talk to them! We can say hi to Future Us! How cool is that?"

"No, best not, really best not," the Doctor called, "These things get complicated very quickly, and...oh, look!" he smiled, spotting something behind Amy, "Big mining thing. Oh, I love a big mining thing. See, way better than Rio! Rio doesn't have a big mining thing."

They turned to look in that direction as well, Angel frowning as she saw the rather large drill set up...

'... _if you struggle, it'll make things worse. Keep hold of my hand_...'

... _the Doctor stopped at the bottom of the steps of a cellar, looking at something sitting in the shadows_...

'... _I'm just protecting my family here. That's all. I don't want to use it. I want you to put things right_...'

"We're not going to have a look, are we?" Amy moaned, Angel shaking her head and glancing at them.

"Let's go and have a look!" the Doctor grinned and ran down the cemetery towards the valley, "Come on, let's see what they're doing."

"If he can't get us to Rio, how's he ever going to get us back home?" Rory asked.

"Don't worry Rory," Angel laughed, " _I'll_ be doing the piloting when you to want to go back," she turned to walk off after the Doctor, when she paused and looked back at him, biting her lip as though trying to work out how to phrase something, "Rory…keep an eye on her."

"On who?"

"The woman. I don't know her name," she admitted, that was one limitation to her visions, she heard a woman speaking, but she didn't know who it was, "But…she's going to cause a lot of problems. So…keep an eye on her."

"Yeah," he nodded as she turned and walked after the Doctor, "I'll keep an eye on…whoever…" he looked at Amy a bit confused. He'd learned enough to know that Angel couldn't see everything, despite being psychic, but still…that was more vague than anything he'd heard from her yet.

Amy could only shrug, "I think you and her worry too much," she linked arms with him and looked back to where her and Future Rory were still waving, "Do you not see, over there? It all works out fine."

"After everything we've seen, we just drop back into our old lives, the nurse and the kiss-o-gram?"

"I guess. They're getting away."

"Hang on. What are you doing with that?" he pointed to her ring finger where her ring was firmly in place.

"Engagement ring!" she smiled, "I thought you liked me wearing it."

"Amy! You could lose it! Cost...a lot of money, that!"

"Hmm," she slipped it off and gave it to him, "Spoilsport."

"Go on. I'll catch you up," he turned and headed back to the TARDIS.

"Doctor!" Amy ran off after them, "Angel!"

~8~

Nasreen was kneeling by a patch of dirt in the middle of the floor, hooking up some machinery to try and examine it while Mack walked back from checking the rest of the station, "The drill's shut down!" he replied, huffing, "There's no sign of Mo. Nobody's been in or out of the perimeter between last night...and...now…" he frowned, spotting the hole in the ground, "What's that? That wasn't there last night. How the hell did that get there?"

"I don't know," Nasreen sighed, staring at the dirt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, I just realized about half this chapter is original and Angel/Rory bonding moments :) Awww :) I know she didn't tell him everything, but I think, at this point, she's just a little more worried about the pregnancy than the Doctor's amnesia, she's known about one longer. But awww, Rory! He's so sweet! So sad Cold Blood is next :(
> 
> But I'm very excited for this episode :) SO much to come! But here's a question...why is the Doctor being so short/cross with Rory? I suppose we'll find out soon ;)
> 
> I know the last chapter might have gotten your hopes up that Jack would be this chapter, nope :) I had a note in a previous chapter that Jack would be after Cold Blood :)


	25. The Hungry Earth: Taken

Rory smiled as he held Amy's engagement ring, gently tracing the diamond with a finger. He had to admit, he'd been thrilled to see her wearing it just then. Beyond thrilled. Because he'd noticed she HADN'T worn it during the adventure in Venice or any of the ones that had come between that and the Dream Lord. It had...hurt. A lot. Because it had made him think that she didn't want anyone to know she was taken, or that she was taken by him, like she had wanted to live out the fantasy that she was single. In a way, it also made him feel like, despite the fact that they would be married in the morning (whenever that was) that it was her way of proving she wasn't married yet and that anything could happen.

But not anymore, now she was wearing the ring and that was wonderful. He sighed happily and put the ring back in its box before leaving it on the console and turning to head to the doors. He'd just stepped outside and nearly run into a woman with brown hair in a pink jacket standing right there, "Well, that was quick!"

"Was it?" Rory frowned, eyeing her.

"It's great that you came."

"Bit retro," the little boy by her side eyed the box, "What is it, portable crime lab?"

"Oh…" Rory began, "Er, sort of."

"Ambrose Northover," she introduced, shaking his hand, "I was the one who called. I run the Meals on Wheels for the whole valley. This is my son, Elliot."

"Where's your uniform?" Elliot turned his attention to Rory now.

"Don't be cheeky, Elliot, he's plain clothes. CID, is it? Anyway, it's over here," she turned and walked off.

Rory stood there a moment, unsure what to do. He glanced in the direction Angel and Amy had gone after the Doctor and shifted on his feet. He didn't feel right not going after them, after Angel, especially not now that he knew about her condition. It was...it just went against everything he was, a nurse, a man, a companion, to leave her alone, pregnant. He knew Angel was strong, but she was scared too. She always tried to keep people happy and not have them worry about her but she'd let him in, she'd told him her fears, her concerns, she'd let him in on an enormous secret, one he could tell she really needed help in dealing with.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair, before following after Ambrose, knowing that Angel would want him to help someone else before her (even if he really just wanted to help _her_ and make sure she was ok). He supposed, the sooner he got this over with the sooner he could get back to Angel and check on her. He'd just have to hope that the Doctor would be able to take care of her and keep her and Amy safe till then.

He should really trust the man more, he believed, as his wife-to-be's Pilot anyway.

~8~

The Doctor, Amy, and Angel arrived at the drill site to find the gates locked, "'Restricted Access,'" Angel read the sign that was hanging in front of it, "'No unauthorized personnel,'" she sighed, glancing at the Doctor to see him grinning widely, "Not going to stop you is it?" she asked him with a small smile.

He nodded and flashed his sonic against the lock, opening it.

"That is breaking and entering," Amy told him.

"What did I break?!" he countered, " _Sonicing_ and entering, totally different," he opened the gate.

"Come on, then," Amy shrugged, heading through.

The Doctor looked back the way they came, "You're sure Rory'll catch us up?"

"Yeah," Angel reassured him as she too glanced back, " _He'll_ be fine."

She swallowed hard though, a pit forming in her gut once more, she seemed to be getting a lot of those recently. She knew, Rory would be just fine. But the way she'd spoken, the emphasis on _Rory_ being fine, it made her worried about who wouldn't be?

"Amy!" the Doctor shouted suddenly, rushing off after Amy, "Don't wander off!"

Angel sighed and shook her head before following after him.

~8~

Ambrose and Elliot stood, looking down into an open grave, with Rory, "It's a family plot, see," Ambrose told him, "My aunt Gladys died six years ago. Her husband, Alun, died a few weeks back. He lived in the house two doors down. There's not many of us left up here now..."

"Mum, he doesn't care about that!" Elliot cut in, "He wants to know about the dead bodies."

"Yes. Sorry. Well, they always wanted to be buried in the same plot, together. But when we went to bury Uncle Alun, Gladys wasn't there. Gone. Body, coffin, everything."

"What?" Rory started at that.

"The mad thing is, on the surface, the grave was untouched. No signs of it having been messed with."

"I'm sorry, I don't understand."

"Nobody has touched the grave since my aunt was buried. But when they dug it open, the body was gone. How is that possible?"

Rory opened his mouth to answer, only to close it. He had no idea.

~8~

The Doctor, Amy, and Angel walked through a dark hall, "What about now, can you feel it now?" the Doctor looked at Amy.

"Honestly, I've got no idea what you're on about," she shook her head.

"The ground it..." Angel paused, trying to think of how to phrase it, "It's...different."

"It's ten years in the future, maybe how this ground feels is how it always feels."

"Good thought!" the Doctor said, "But no. It doesn't," they paused, hearing a whirring sound start up, one that made Angel tense, she'd heard that noise in her vision, when she'd heard the Doctor shouting, she'd heard it in the background, "Hear that, drill in start-up mode. After waves of a recent seismological shift and blue grass," he pulled out a bit of blue grass from his pocket and put it in his mouth chewing it before making a face and pulling it off his tongue.

"Oh, please!" Amy laughed, "Have you always been this disgusting?"

"No, that's recent."

"Recent?" Angel shook her head, "Let's see…" she frowned in thought, "There was the blood control with the Sycorax that you tasted, the mistletoe varnish on the wall with the werewolf that you licked, the portable TV during the coronation that you licked as well, the Pyrovile dust in the hypocaust at Pompeii you sprinkled in your mouth, the dead sand on San Helios that you dabbed on your tongue…and you tried to taste the wood shed when Prisoner Zero attacked."

Amy raised an eyebrow at the Doctor, feeling...oddly interested. It was weird, just a few adventures ago she was sure, hearing Angel speak of those adventures, that she would have felt irritated that Angel knew so much about the Doctor that she didn't. But now, now she was more interested to just know more.

"Ok…not so recent then," the Doctor conceded, before continuing on, "What's in..." he pushed open a door, "Here? Hello!"

"Who are you?" Nasreen demanded, spinning around from where she'd been leaning over the hole in the floor, "What're you doing here? And what're you _wearing_?"

"I dressed for Rio!" Amy shouted.

The Doctor held out the psychic paper, "Ministry of Drills, Earth and Science! New Ministry, quite big, just merged, lot of responsibility on our shoulders, don't like to talk about it. What're you doing?"

"None of your business," Nasreen countered.

The Doctor walked over to the monitors while Amy went to go lean against some equipment in the back. Angel however, frowned and knelt down by a hole in the ground that had captured her attention the moment she'd spotted it, looking at it curiously, "Where are you getting these readings from?" the Doctor asked.

Nasreen pulled the equipment out of the hole before Angel could touch it as she had been moving to do, "Under the soil."

Mack entered the room, calling to Nasreen, "The drill's up and running again..." he trailed off, frowning as he saw the three extra people there, "What's going on? Who are these people?"

"Doctor?" Angel called, concern in her voice that made him stop his own investigations.

He turned, seeing her gaze was still on the hole and knew, from her expression, that something was wrong with it. He quickly made his way over and knelt down across from her, testing the soil, letting it fall through his fingers.

"Amy, Angel, the Doctor," Amy sighed, gesturing at each of them as she spoke, "We're _not_ staying, are we, Doctor?!"

"Where did this come from?" Angel looked up at Nasreen, pulling her attention away from the dirt for the first time since entering the room.

"We don't know, it just appeared overnight," Nasreen shrugged.

Amy eyed the Doctor and Angel, well, the Doctor really. Angel had returned her eyes to the hole, but the Doctor...he was watching Angel. Actually, no, he wasn't watching her, he was just...staring at her. She knew the Doctor was easily distracted, really very quite easily distracted, but usually by something large and shiny and sudden...

And she found herself smiling a little at that, it was...cute...the Doctor was distracted by the Angel. She shook her head and walked over to them, leaning over by Angel to peer at the dirt. She really wanted to know what was so interesting about the earth that Angel didn't even seem to feel the Doctor's eyes on her. But it was just...brown. Dirt. Just...dirt.

The Doctor stared at Angel one moment longer, before standing quickly when she still didn't look at him. He couldn't help but feel like...if _Rory_ were there and had even glanced at her she would have looked up at him and given him a smile. And that...bothered him, he'd found, very recently, Rory bothered him.

"Good, right," he shook his head, trying to shake the thoughts away, "You all need to get out of here very fast," he moved over to the monitors again.

"Why?" Nasreen eyed him.

"What's your name?"

"Nasreen Chaudhry."

"Look at the screens, Nasreen, your readings. It's moving."

Amy knelt by the hole, next to Angel, really trying to see what the Time Lady seemed to see. Angel was just...staring at it, frowning, her hand resting right in the middle of the soft patch.

Mack walked over to the Doctor, trying to warn him away from the monitors, "Hey, that's specialized equipment! Get away from it."

"What is?" Nasreen squinted at the readings.

"Doctor," Angel swallowed, seeing steam rising from the dirt, "The hole's releasing steam."

"That's not a good thing, is it?" Amy frowned.

The Doctor glanced back at the hole, frowning, "Shouldn't think so," he made his way over to it, "It's shifting when it shouldn't be shifting."

"What shouldn't?" Nasreen asked, but the ground began to shake before anyone could answer, Angel quickly pulling Amy up as they stood, backing away from the hole.

"The ground, the soil, the earth, moving, but how?" the Doctor rushed to the monitor, typing furiously to try and see what was happening, "Why?"

"Earthquake?" Amy guessed.

"What's going on?" Mack frowned.

"Doubt it," the Doctor waved Amy off as Angel slowly nudged Amy towards the humans and away from the hole, "'Cos it's only happening under this room," he leapt back as more holes began to form on the ground, "It knows we're here. The ground's attacking us!"

"No, that's not possible!" Nasreen shouted.

"Under the circumstances, I suggest...RUN!" the Doctor cried, grabbing Nasreen by the hand and they ran for the door, Amy jumping over a hole, about to follow, when Mack got trapped.

"Tony!"

"Amy go!" Angel shooed her away, "I've got him," Amy turned and ran back to the Doctor's side as Angel side-stepped a hole and helped Tony to his feet, "It'll be alright," she breathed, urging him on,...

When the ground underneath her broke apart and trapped both her feet.

She struggled, gasping, "Something's pulling me!"

"Angel!" the Doctor half-threw himself towards her, Amy rushing after him.

"Something's got me," Angel struggled more but was pulled right down into the ground as the Doctor stretched out on his stomach to reach for her, "It's grabbing my legs," she sank down to her waist, scrambling, clawing at the concrete floor to try and get out of the dirt.

The Doctor grabbed both her arms, Amy grabbing an arm as well, "We've got you."

"We won't let go," Amy promised, grabbing her. Nasreen helped Tony out of the hole he was in and over to her.

"Don't let me go," Angel breathed, pleading with them, tears in her eyes, panting and gasping as she was tugged down even more.

"Never," the Doctor promised, gripping her tightly, trying to keep her from being pulled away from him, his hearts were racing, his blood pounding in his ears, he felt cold, he felt...desperate, his grip tightening even more, "Just…stay calm, keep hold of my hand, don't let go."

Angel looked at the ground and back up, "It's the drill…"

He looked back over his shoulder, "Your drill, shut it down! Go! Now!"

Nasreen and Tony ran out of the control room.

"Can we get her out?" Amy looked at the Doctor, starting to panic as Angel sunk even lower into the ground, the girl had gone three shades paler and seemed near a panic attack the lower she went.

The Doctor didn't answer, didn't even really hear her as he focused on Angel, "Try and stay calm," he told her, though Amy could hear a shaking in his voice, see a...fear in his eyes, "If you struggle, it'll make things worse. Keep hold of my hand," he squeezed hers.

~8~

Nasreen and Tony tried to stop the drill, "Shut down all drilling activity as quick as you can!" Nasreen shouted.

"Reducing main unit power," Tony reported.

~8~

"I'm _not_ going to let you go," the Doctor promised even as Angel slipped from his grip into the ground, now mid-chest, buried.

"Doctor," Angel swallowed, trying to remain calm despite her frantic worry, not for her...but for the baby, "It's _pulling_ me down."

The Doctor grabbed her wrist with both hands, his knuckles turning white at how tightly he was holding onto her, as Amy struggled to tug her out from the elbows, "Stay calm. Hold on, if they can just shut down the drill in time..."

Angel shook her head, the tears in her eyes spilling as she looked into his eyes, "They won't."

The Doctor swallowed at the certainty in her voice, and he knew...he knew the humans wouldn't be in time to stop the drill. But he could hope that he could hold on long enough to get her out even without it being stopped. He had to hold on, he had to, he couldn't lose her.

~8~

"Tony, we have got to be faster!" Nasreen called.

"I'm doing my best!" he retorted, working frantically, "Come on, shut down!"

~8~

Angel was now down so that only her head and arms were visible, the Doctor and Amy straining to hold onto her, the Doctor far more frantic than Amy.

"It's got to be something under the earth," Angel tried to think, tried to put her sensations into words to help the Doctor with what little time she had left above ground. She had to give him all she could, give him whatever she felt, he'd work it out, he'd figure it out and then...she had to hope he'd come for her.

"Don't you give up!" the Doctor tugged her, "Not you, not the Angel, don't lose faith now..."

"Doctor…" she began but he cut her off.

"No!" he nearly shouted, tears in his own eyes, "No, don't you dare Angel. Don't lose faith in me, please," he begged, "I'll stop this, you'll be fine and..."

Angel let out a small scream as she was pulled right down into the earth.

"No!" he yelled, "Angel!"

"Angel!" Amy struggled to hold on, but the girl was ripped from their grasp, "No!"

The Doctor started digging through the dirt after her, his hearts pounding too fiercely for him to think of anything but getting her back, "No! No! No! No! No! No. No! No. No!" he slapped the ground and stood up, "No. No!" he soniced the ground, needing to reverse the process, needing her back. No, he couldn't be the last, not again. Not now. He...he didn't want to be alone.

Amy, though, watched him, completely stunned at how he was reacting, not having seen him lose _that_ much control _ever_. She swallowed, backing up, not wanting to get in his way. She frowned, watching him, watching his eyes as he tried to get Angel back...that look...that...pain...she'd felt just that, she'd felt it, when Rory had died in the dream world, it was the look of someone who had just lost the most important thing in the world to them. But Angel wasn't dead (oh she prayed the girl wasn't), and...the Doctor wasn't in love with her. She closed her eyes, realizing one other thing, importance didn't always mean love...Angel was the last Time Lady, she was the last of his people. There was no one else...of course the Doctor would be frantic to get her back, she couldn't imagine him being alone like the Star Whale had been.

"Doctor..." she stepped over to him when he suddenly stilled, staring at the results of the sonic's scan.

"Where is she?" Nasreen gasped as she and Tony ran back in, cutting off Amy but seeing the girl in the blue dress missing.

"She's gone," he swallowed hard, "The ground took her."

~8~

Rory was stuck at the bottom of a dug up grave, mimicking the Doctor by jumping up and down, trying to feel what the man had felt, and feeling rather silly for it. He sighed, stopping, and deciding to try another tactic, putting his hand on the side of the hole, trying to just...feel...if something was wrong, like Angel did. But that was another problem, he wasn't psychic like Angel was, still...made him feel less silly.

"Do you want sugar?" Elliot asked.

"Sorry?" Rory looked up as the boy appeared at the side of the grave.

"In your tea. Mum's asking."

"No. Just white, thanks."

"There's only one explanation, as far as I can see."

"What's that, then?"

"The graves eat people. Devour them whole, leaving no trace."

"Not sure about that," he smiled at the boy, he'd always had a soft spot for children...which only made him think about Angel. He...he was starting to get nervous. Knowing the Doctor and his luck, trouble followed him around everywhere he went, it would only be a matter of time before something went wrong, and he'd rather be there to help when it happened.

"They didn't steal the body from above. They couldn't have got in from the sides. Only other thing is, they get in from underneath."

"Not very likely, though."

"'When you've eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.'"

"Sorry?"

"Sherlock Holmes," he gestured to his headphones, "Got the audio book. The graves round here eat people," he turned and left, leaving Rory shuddering in the grave.

~8~

"Is that what happened to Mo?" Tony frowned as the Doctor paced and Amy knelt beside the hole Angel had been taken through, as though the Time Lady would reach out at any moment and she could pull her back out again, "Are they dead?"

"It's not quicksand," the Doctor thought quickly.

"She didn't _sink_ ," Amy murmured, before her eyes widened and she turned to the Doctor, "She said something was _pulling_ her."

"It wanted her."

"The _ground_ wanted her?" Nasreen gave him an incredulous look.

He rounded on her, "You said the ground was dormant, just a patch of Earth, when you first saw it this morning and the drill had been stopped."

"That's right," Tony agreed.

"Didn't you think it might be possible that when you restarted the drill, the ground would fight back!" he snapped, his face set in a hard expression, a fire in his eyes.

"Doctor!" Amy shouted, seeing him snapping at the humans, honestly, who would think the ground would fight back?

"So what, the ground wants to stop us drilling?!" Nasreen chuckled, "Doctor, that is ridiculous."

His jaw tensed, "Is it?" he looked at her a moment longer, a flash of accusation in his eyes, Angel had been taken by the ground, the ground had been activated because of the drill, the drill belonged to the humans, it was THEIR fault. He spun around suddenly and used the sonic on the hole, Amy jumped back as the ground began to vibrate, "I'm not saying that, and it's not ridiculous, it _happened_ ," he sighed, rubbing his head, feeling it pounding, "I just don't think it's right. Oh!" he looked up, "Of course! It's bio-programming!"

"What?!"

"Bio-programming!" he pointed at Amy with a smile, making her frown at how...quickly his mood had changed, "Oh, clever. You use bio-signals to resonate the internal molecular structure of natural objects! It's mainly used in engineering and construction, mostly jungle planets, but that's way in the future, and not here. What's it doing here?"

"Sorry, did you just say jungle planets?"

"You're not making any sense, man!" Tony yelled.

"'Scuse me, I'm making perfect sense, you're just not keeping up," the Doctor replied, "The earth, the ground beneath our feet, was bio-programmed to attack."

"Yeah, even if that were possible, which, by the way, it's not, why?" Nasreen lifted an eyebrow.

"Stop you drilling! We find what's doing the bio-programming, find Angel, get her back. Shh, shh, shh! Have I gone mad?! I've gone mad!"

"Doctor…" Amy looked up at him, concerned.

He really _was_ starting to make her fear he'd truly gone mad. It was like he was spinning out of control, going from angry to intrigued, to confused, to determined...he was all over the place. Well, he was normally like that, but not quite so...extreme. It was like he was...unbalanced. He'd been like that in the dream worlds too, when...when Angel hadn't been there.

"Shh, shh! Silence! Absolute silence! You stopped the drill, right?" he pointed at Nasreen and Tony.

"Yes!" Nasreen replied.

"And you've only got the one drill?"

"Yes!"

"You're sure about that?"

"Yes!" Tony stated.

The Doctor dropped to the ground and lied next to the hole, listening as a whirring sound began beneath the hole, "So, if you shut the drill down...why can I still hear drilling? It's under the ground."

"That's not possible."

Amy just knelt down and listed too as the Doctor jumped up and ran to the machinery, using the sonic on them, "Oh, no, what, what are you doing?" Nasreen demanded.

"Hacking into your records," he replied, "Reports, samples, sensors, good, just unite the data, make it all one big conversation, let's have a look. So. We are here and this is your drill hole. 21.009 kilometers. Well done!"

"Thank you. It's taken us a long time."

"What made you drill here?" Amy stood up and walked over, Rio completely forgotten as her mind filled with worry over her friend, "Of all places on Earth, why specifically here?"

"We found patches of grass in this area, containing trace minerals unseen in this country for 20 million years!"

"The blue grass?" the Doctor frowned, "Oh, Nasreen, those trace minerals weren't X marking the spot, saying dig here. They were a warning. Stay away. 'Cos while you've been drilling down...somebody else has been drilling up," he flashed the sonic at the monitors once more and a new image appeared, lines all around the drill, "Oh, beautiful. Network of tunnels all the way down," he started to smile at that, tunnels...it meant it was a clear path, it meant Angel was ok, she hadn't been suffocated by the earth but had a clear path...

Which meant, there really was something beneath the earth. Now he just had to find out what.

"No, no, we've surveyed that area," Tony argued.

"You only saw what you went looking for, which is understandable," he sighed, "Not like you had a psychic with you to see what you couldn't."

"What are they?" Nasreen frowned, pointing to the monitor where a few blinking lights were.

"Heat signals. Wait, dual readings, hot _and_ cold, doesn't make sense. And now they're moving. Fast. How many people live nearby?"

"Just my daughter and her family," Tony answered, "The rest of the staff travel in."

"Grab this equipment and follow me," the Doctor headed for the door as Amy started trying to grab what she could carry, doing as he asked, no questions asked, knowing that they would just frustrate him and that, the sooner she did as she was told the sooner they could get Angel back.

She dreaded to think how Rory would react to this.

"Why?" Nasreen shook her head, "What're we doing?!"

The Doctor turned to them, "That noise isn't a drill. It's transport. Three of them, 30 kilometers down, rate of speed looks about 150 kilometers an hour. Should be here in...oh, quite soon, 12 minutes? But don't take my word for it, rubbish at timing, and that," he pointed at them, "Is why we need to get Angel back quite quickly, well, one of many, many, many reasons I don't have time to list at the moment," he picked up a computer, "Whatever bio-programmed the earth is on its way up, now," he turned and left, Amy hurrying after him, her arms full of computers while Nasreen and Tony packed up the others.

~8~

The Doctor and Tony were carrying computers while Amy and Nasreen followed, pushing a wheelbarrow full of equipment, "How can something be coming up when there's only the Earth's crust down there?" Tony asked.

"You saw the readings!" the Doctor said.

"Who are you, anyway?!" Nasreen eyed him, "How can you know all this?"

Before he could answer there was a whirring sound and a red light shot across the sky.

"Did you see that?" Amy gaped, "Doctor, did you see that? What was that?"

"No, no, no!" the Doctor's eyes widened. He pulled out a slingshot from his pocket, picked up a rock, and fired it at the sky. It hit a force field that flickered red for a moment before fading. He pulled out his sonic and aimed it at the sky, revealing the field and village around the drill site encased in a red dome, "Energy signal originating from under the earth. We're trapped."

"Amy!" Rory gasped, running over to her with Ambrose and Elliot behind him, hugging her tightly before turning to the Doctor, "Doctor! Something weird's going on here, the graves are eating people."

"Not now, Rory!" he waved him off, "Energy barricade. Invisible to the naked eye. We can't get out and no one from the outside world can get in."

"What?!"

"Can't we use the TARDIS?" Amy suggested.

"The what?!" Nasreen frowned.

"No, those energy patterns would play havoc with the circuits," the Doctor mumbled, "And I'm not about to have Angel kill me when we get her back for blowing them up…again."

"Get her _back_?" Rory frowned, tensing, catching that word, "From where?" he turned, looking around for Angel, he'd thought she'd just fallen a bit behind...but she wasn't there. Where was she? Why wasn't she there? Back from where?!

"With a bit of time, maybe, but we've only got nine and a half minutes," the Doctor continued, ignoring Rory.

"Doctor!" Rory huffed.

"Nine and a half minutes to what?" Ambrose asked, eyeing them.

"Where's Angel?" Rory tried again.

"We're trapped," Nasreen told Ambrose, "And something's burrowing towards the surface."

"Doctor!" Rory moved right in front of the man, grabbing a small bit of equipment from his hand and yanking it away, "Tell me, now, where's Angel?" he demanded again, his worry growing along with his annoyance at how the Doctor was ignoring him, he was Angel's companion for god's sake! He, of all people, deserved to know when something happened to his Pilot, "What's happened to her?"

"Get everyone inside the church!" the Doctor shouted to the humans, picking up a computer, "Don't worry Rory, we'll get her back."

"What d'you mean, _get her back_?!" he repeated, his hands clenching into fists, "Where has she gone?"

"She was taken," Amy told him quietly, "Into the earth."

"How?!" he frowned, growing frustrated and very angry, "Why didn't you _stop_ it?!" he rounded on the Doctor for that one. The girl was pregnant for the love of God and the Doctor just…he just let her get taken!? His Pilot!?

"We tried," the Doctor looked at him, "I promise, I tried."

"Well, you should've tried harder!" Rory nearly shouted, glaring at the man. He knew it wasn't fair to be this angry. The Doctor didn't know about the baby. But still, to _let_ Angel get taken? Just like that? He couldn't help it. Even not being pregnant, the Time Lord should have taken better care of her.

Amy frowned, watching Rory with concern, his reaction was...slightly unexpected. She'd seen Rory and Angel's friendship blossom as Pilot and Companion, but this…she wasn't expecting him to blow up like _this_ over it, "We'll find her," Amy said, determined, "We will. We'll find her and we'll get her back safe and sound. We have to."

The Doctor nodded, "I'll keep you all safe. I promise."

"What, like you kept Angel safe?" Rory frowned, just a bit pleased (as terrible as it was to admit) when the Doctor winced at that.

"Come on," the Doctor murmured, "Please. I need you two to help me," he looked between the two companions before he picked up a case and headed towards the church behind them.

Rory just shook his head and grabbed another computer, if it would help get Angel back, he'd do anything.

~8~

Something crept up to Angel's prone body as she laid in a small cavern under the earth, completely knocked out, though one hand rested on her stomach protectively despite it all. The creature held a scanner up to her, watching the small screen intently, before grinning, pleased to see she was alive.

She would make a perfect specimen.

~8~

Tony tried to open the door of the church while the rest carried the equipment, but the door wasn't budging, "Where's Mo?" Ambrose asked, "Is he with you?"

"This flaming' door!" Tony grumbled, "Always sticking! I thought you were having it fixed!"

"Dad!"

"Something's happened to him, hasn't it?" Elliot asked quietly, his grandfather sighing and growing solemn, all the answer they needed.

~8~

The church was in a severe state of disrepair and disuse with boxes, crates, and just a mess of junk everywhere. The Doctor, Nasreen, and Tony were setting up the equipment as fast as they could while the others looked on.

"So we can't get out, we can't contact anyone," Ambrose eyed them, "And something, the something that took my husband, is coming up through the earth."

"Yes," the Doctor agreed, "If we move quickly enough, we can be ready."

"No, stop. This has gone far enough. What is this?"

"He's telling the truth, love," Tony looked at her.

"Come on! It's not the first time we've had no mobile or phone signals. Reception's always rubbish."

"Look, Ambrose, we saw the Doctor's friend get taken, ok?" Nasreen straightened as the Doctor winced at that, Rory throwing him a glare, "You saw the lightning in the sky. I have seen the impossible today, and the only person who's made any sense of it, for me, is the Doctor."

"Him?!"

"Me," he grinned.

"Can you get my dad back?" Elliot asked as everyone turned to look at the Doctor.

"Yes," he said, moving over to the boy and leaning down to talk to him, "And you know what, the something that took your father, took my friend, Angel her name is," he smiled at the boy, whispering, "And a lot of people think she really is one," he winked before speaking normally again, "She's down there, and I don't doubt she'll find him and keep him safe till we can go find them both. That's what she does, she helps people and keeps them safe, that's why I'm here too," he looked up at the boy's mother and stood, "But I need you to trust me and do exactly as I say from this second onwards because we're running out of time."

"So tell us what to do," Ambrose whispered.

"Thank you. We have eight minutes to set up a line of defense. Bring me every phone, camera, every piece of recording or transmitting equipment you can find. Every burglar alarm, every movement sensor, every security light. I want the whole area covered with sensors."

~8~

Amy and Rory were hooking up cameras around the church at ideal positions while the Doctor ran around sonicing them.

~8~

The monitor on the computer now showed that whatever was coming was getting closer, "Right," the Doctor nodded, "We need to be ready for whatever's coming up," he looked at Elliot, "I need a map of the village, marking where the cameras are going."

"I can't do the words," he said, "I'm dyslexic."

"Oh, that's alright, you know what Angel would say?" he asked the boy, who shook his head, "That it makes you all the most special, and that it'll make you a stronger person to overcome it," he reached out and ruffled the boy's hair, "Not every victory has to be a massive one. You draw like your life depends on it, Elliot," Elliot rushed off as the Doctor checked his watch, "6 minutes 40."

~8~

Elliot drew his map while Rory and Amy continued to put up the cameras.

~8~

Nasreen watched the time count down on the monitor while Tony pulled up an overlay of the village, "Works in quadrants, every movement sensor and triplight we've got," Tony reported to the Doctor, "If anything moves, we'll know."

The Doctor patted him on the back, "Good lad!"

~8~

The Doctor looked through Ambrose's van as she walked by with her arms full of gardening implements and anything that could be used as a weapon, "Oi!" she called, seeing him eyeing the truck, "What're you doing?!"

"Resources! Every little helps! Meals on wheels. What've you got here then, warmer in the front, refrigerated in the back."

"Bit chilly for a hideout, mind," she set the items in the front.

"What are those?"

"Like you say, every little helps."

"No! No weapons. It's not the way I do things, that's not the way Angel would want this done either."

"You said we're supposed to defend ourselves."

"Oh, Ambrose, you're better than this. I'm asking nicely. Put them away," he turned and walked away, Ambrose giving one last look at the cab before shutting the door.

~8~

The countdown red 3:23 when Elliot ran over to the Doctor with his map, "Look at that!" the Doctor cheered, "Perfect! Dyslexia never stopped Da Vinci or Einstein after Angel had a talking with them, it's not stopping you either."

"I don't understand what you're going to do," Elliot admitted.

"Two phase plan. First, since our resident psychic isn't here, the sensors and cameras will tell us when something arrives. Second, if something does arrive, I use this to send a sonic pulse through that network of devices, a pulse which would temporarily incapacitate most things in the Universe."

"Knock 'em out. Cool."

"Lovely place to grow up, round here."

"Suppose. I want to live in a city one day. Soon as I'm old enough, I'll be off."

"I was the same, where I grew up."

"Did you get away?"

"Yeah."

"Do you ever miss it?"

"So much," he admitted, "But…I've got Angel with me," he smiled a bit, though his hearts pinged painfully, he knew though that it had to be because she was missing at the moment, "Doesn't get so lonely when you've got someone with you."

"Is it monsters coming? Have you met monsters before?"

"Yeah."

"You scared of them?"

"No! They're scared of me."

"Will you really get my dad back?"

"No question," he turned back to the computer, "Don't have to be Angel to know it either."

"I left my headphones at home!" Elliot realized and rushed off, the countdown clicking down to just over a minute.

~8~

Rory was setting up a camera on one of the gravestones, Amy having gone back into the church to add it to the monitoring system when the Doctor walked over, "How're we doing?"

"Better if Angel were here," Rory muttered, Amy had explained to him exactly what happened to Angel before and he was even less pleased that the Doctor had just...let Angel slip through his fingers, though he was sure that wasn't how it had happened exactly.

"It wasn't my fault," the Doctor defended, "And she's the last of MY kind, I don't see why _you're_ getting so cross about it."

"You don't see..." Rory shook his head, turning to the Doctor, "She's MY Pilot. She's my friend. She's my pat..." he cut off, not about to reveal that he'd unofficially taken Angel as a patient for her pregnancy, "She's practically my family now after Venice," he amended, the Doctor not seeming to have noticed the change, "Of course I'll worry, it's not like YOU are."

THAT was what bothered him. Angel had been taken, and the Doctor wasn't doing a thing to go find her! He was hiding them all in a church when Angel was trapped alone and probably scared with who knew what.

"Don't presume to know how I feel Rory," the Doctor stated.

"I know you're not nearly worried enough."

"And you're too worried!" he snapped.

Rory shook his head, "What is your problem with me Doctor?" he asked, "You're actually MAD that I'm worried about her?"

The Doctor fell silent, "I'm going to check on Amy."

"No," Rory reached out and grabbed his arm, "You've been short with me and ignoring me ever since the Dream Lord. Why? I have a right to know what I've done to deserve it."

The Doctor's jaw tensed, "I saw you."

"Saw me what?" he frowned, utterly confused.

"I saw you, with Angel," he explained, poking Rory in the chest, "I saw you both, in the console room, your arms around each other, looking far too comfy cozy. After everything you gave _me_ about kissing Amy you go and have your hands all over another woman? I thought you loved Amy? I thought Amy was the 'only one for you?' And now you've set your sights on Angel? Well that's NOT gonna happen, Rory, not ever, not at all, not..."

"I didn't have my hands all over her!" Rory cut in, slapping the Doctor's hand away as he continued to poke him.

"I _saw_ it Rory!"

"You saw me _hugging_ her!" Rory huffed, "I was giving her _a hug_."

"Why?" he scoffed, not believing him.

"Because she had a nightmare," he explained, serious, "Not that I have to explain it to you," he added, "But she had a nightmare and it nearly had her in tears. I was just trying to help her feel better."

The Doctor blinked, stepping back. He looked at the ground and then glanced cautiously at Rory, "A nightmare?"

"Yeah."

He shook his head, seeming confused, "But...why would she go to YOU about it?"

Rory tried not to feel offended by that remark, "I dunno, I just sort of...stumbled on her and we talked."

"She could have come to me," he murmured, feeling rather...hurt...that Angel had spoken with Rory of her nightmare and not him. She should have come to him. And, it hurt even more to know that...he hadn't even been aware she'd been having nightmares, "Why didn't she come to me?"

Rory could only shrug.

"It's getting darker!" Amy called as she ran over to them, "Doctor look!" she pointed at the sky where the light was fading.

Rory tensed, looking up. His nerves were already on edge without Angel there. He should have known something like this would happen. They'd stuck pretty close to each other during the last few adventures, the only time she seemed to stray from his side was when she knew, for a fact, that he would be alright without her or that he could handle whatever he was about to encounter by himself. Unfortunately, that often meant that the Doctor or Amy was on the brink of being in trouble and she was off to help keep them alive, usually putting herself in danger to do it. He should have know that something was going to happen to her when she went with them and didn't stay with him. He supposed, it was partially his fault too for not insisting she go with him back to the TARDIS instead, pulled the 'you're MY Pilot' card.

"How can it be getting dark so quickly?" Amy looked at the Doctor.

"Shutting out light from within the barricade," the Doctor replied, "Trying to isolate us in the dark. Which means..." a rumbling started, "It's here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, Angel was the one to get taken this time! O.O Not Amy and Angel, just poor old Angel :( I hope you liked the little Rory moments when he found out she'd been taken :) I could see him reacting much more given that he's the only one who knows she's pregnant and he can't say anything. I can also say that the Doctor choosing to stay with the humans and defend them (instead of going after Angel like he has so often in the past) will not only be a very important moment, but also come back to bite him later in the saga ;)


	26. The Hungry Earth: Down Below

Tony and Nasreen stood inside the church, looking around as the light dimmed and the earth shook slightly. They glanced at each other, knowing what that meant, the attack the Doctor had warned about was coming, and soon. Tony shook his head, not wanting to think about that and what might happen as he turned on one of the hand lights and joined Nasreen by the computers she was monitoring.

"They're close to the surface now," she remarked, staring at the blinking dots coming closer and closer. She looked down a moment before reaching out, putting her hand on Tony's. He smiled at the action, gripping her hand tightly before pulling her to him and kissing her quickly. She pulled back, a bit surprised, "Tony!" though the smile on her face told him she was more than a bit pleased as well.

"Like you didn't know," he smirked at her.

She gave him a knowing grin and kissed him again just as the countdown reached 0.

~8~

The Doctor, Rory, and Amy headed back to the church, only to see Ambrose having trouble with the door, "I can't open it!" she grunted, trying to push it, but nothing happened, "It keeps sticking! The wood's warped."

The Doctor stepped forward with Amy to help shove against it, "Any time you want to help!" he called back to Rory.

"Can't you use the sonic?" Rory asked.

"Not on wood," Amy remarked with a roll of her eyes, how rubbish was that? The little metal wand could do anything...except work on wood?

"That is rubbish!" Rory said, making Amy nod in agreement.

"Oi!" the Doctor spun around and pointed at him as the women continued to try and open the door, "Don't diss the sonic!"

Rory sighed and shook his head, joining them in shoving the door, the four of them managing to get it open. They stepped into the dark church, seeing Tony and Nasreen standing there as the door slammed shut behind them. The ground shook even worse than before, nearly knocking them over.

"See if we can get a fix," the Doctor rushed to a computer as things began to fall off the walls, Rory pulling Amy closer to protect her, secretly glad, for the moment at least, that Angel wasn't there, the middle of an earthquake was _not_ a safe place for a pregnant woman to be. The Doctor flashed the sonic on the monitor and typed quickly, narrowing down the area with the program Tony set up...when the computer sparked and the power went off.

Rory rolled his eyes at that luck.

"No power," Tony reported, checking the backs of the computers and the power lines.

"It's deliberate."

"What do we do now?" Amy asked, looking around as Tony turned on a bright torch.

"Nothing. We've got nothing! They sent an energy surge to wreck our systems," he rubbed his head, "If Angel were here she'd have warned us about this."

"And been able to power the computers," Amy added, thinking of how the girl had powered the lights on the _Byzantium_.

Rory frowned at them, "She's not a _battery_!" he reminded them, "She's not just your walk-talking fortune booth either!" he pointed at the Doctor, "She's a _person_ and she's in more danger right now than we are!"

"I didn't..." Amy began as Rory looked at her in disappointment, "I didn't mean it like _that_ ," she took his hand, "I'm worried about her too Rory, but...if she were here, she'd want to do whatever she could to help. She does that," she smiled, "Helps people all the time in tiny little ways," she leaned in, seeing Rory calm down a bit, and kissed his cheek, "I want her back too."

Rory sighed, he was just...he felt so useless, like he'd _failed_ her. Angel was always taking care of everyone, and he'd JUST told her he'd take care of her in her pregnancy, and he'd...he'd already failed to do that. He'd let Angel go off with the Doctor, something his gut had told him _not_ to do, and he hadn't been there to help, and she'd gotten taken into the earth because of it. He nodded to himself, as soon as they got her back, he was going to stick to her side like they were tied together. He wouldn't leave her alone for a moment, not till the baby was born, it didn't matter if it would be a little more than 2 years from now (he supposed that would be something Amy would enjoy, two more years on the TARDIS as a definite), but he'd be with her every step of the way.

He'd protect her when the Doctor couldn't.

 _No one_ was going to hurt his Pilot as long as he was there.

He looked around the room, realizing Amy was right and, if Angel were there, she'd be worrying and fretting about everyone. He had to smile at that, he was the same, came with being a nurse. Like Pilot like companion it seemed, "Is everyone ok?" he asked, moving to help Tony stand, "Is anyone hurt?"

"I'm fine," Nasreen nodded.

"I'm good," Tony patted Rory's back in thanks.

"Me too," Ambrose agreed as another loud rumbling sounded.

"Doctor, what was that?" Amy turned to the Doctor.

"It's like the holes at the drill station," Tony murmured.

"Is this how they happened?" Nasreen frowned.

The Doctor knelt down and bent over to press his ear to the ground, "It's coming through the final layer of earth."

"What is?!"

The Doctor stood quickly when the noise cut off.

"The banging's stopped," Tony tensed.

Ambrose looked around the room and her heart stopped, "Where's Elliot? Has anyone seen Elliot? Did he come in? Was he in when the door was shut? Who counted him back in? Who saw him last?"

"I did," the Doctor realized, swallowing hard as it hit him.

He'd been at the computer and the boy had muttered something about headphones before rushing off. He hadn't thought much of it at the time, he'd thought the boy left them in the Meals on Wheels van and just gone round the back. He...he hadn't even really noticed, hadn't taken his eyes off the monitor. He was just...to focused on getting everyone safe, stopping whatever was about to attack so that he could concentrate completely on getting Angel back without worrying about the humans. He closed his eyes...and now Elliot was missing because of his inability to focus on that.

It was...weird, he felt at odds with himself, ever since Angel had been taken into the earth it was like there were two warring factions within his own mind.

One part of him desperately wanted to get her back, it had completely lost all sense of control when she'd been taken, had left him little more than a desperate man digging through dirt even knowing it wouldn't help. It just...wanted her back beside him, wanted her safe, wanted to see that she was ok and unharmed. It was, admittedly, a side of himself he was slowly growing more familiar with. It happened each and every time Angel was in danger, felt even more strongly when she wasn't right beside him but somewhere else. And it kept...growing more and more powerful each time it happened, along with the crushing guilt and disappointment in himself that it _had_ happened, that Angel was in danger again. He didn't like when she was in danger or hurt, he tried his best to protect everyone, companions, guests, even enemies, so of course he'd try harder for Angel, but...he just kept failing her didn't he? How many times had she been put in danger because of him? Quite a bit if the intense feeling that arose to get her back was anything to go by. Each time she was taken away or hurt or in danger made him feel like she was that much closer to a danger he wouldn't be able to save her from. Each time he was apart from her longer than the time before and each time the danger was greater. How long would it be before she was facing a danger without him, _because_ of him, that she wouldn't be able to walk away from? And that bothered him, that... _scared_ him, the thought of her being hurt, of losing her like that.

And then there was another part of him that seemed to almost push those thoughts away, to hold them back. He liked to think it was the rational part of his mind...if he had a rational part...many people would argue he did not. But that side of him, it seemed to try and let him focus. It seemed to try and reassure him Angel would be fine for a short while, that she was a Time Lady, she was more than capable of handling herself, and she had the Vortex to protect her till he could get there. That part...it made him feel... _wrong_. It felt like it didn't fit. Like it just...didn't belong with him. Yet that was the part that often won out when she was in danger. That was the part that had made him leave her and Amy in the forest with the angels, had let her enter the Calvierri school, had led him to fortifying the old church and protect the humans while Angel waited below ground. It was probably a blessing to be able to think calmly when he was so worried, to be able to focus despite the dangers to others, but...it still felt wrong, so SO wrong that this part of his mind seemed almost...dismissive of Angel's plight. Like it just...brushed the danger to her off and didn't worry about her any more than he'd worry about any old companion.

And that was wrong, because she _wasn't_ just any old companion, she was a Time Lady, she was his friend, his mate...

He winced _again_ at that word, feeling his hearts ping painfully at that notion...

"Where is he?" Ambrose demanded, tears in her eyes, pulling him out of his warring thoughts.

He looked at her, already able to feel that part of his mind focusing on the task at hand, at the danger to the humans instead of Angel, the...tendrils of fear and concern for her slowly fading as he was reminded of what might be coming for _them_ , "He said he was going to get headphones."

"And you let him go? He was out there on his own?!" Tony put a hand on her shoulder as she took a step towards him, hysterical.

~8~

Elliot ran towards the church in the dark, stopping when he heard a whoosh before turning around and looking. Seeing nothing there he continued on, running to the old wooden door and pounding on it, "Mum! Grandpa Tony! Let me in!"

~8~

Ambrose's eyes widened, hearing him, "Elliot!" she ran to the door.

"Let me in!" Elliot shouted.

"He's out there! Help me."

"Open the door!" he banged on it, "Mum! There's something out here!"

Everyone worked on opening the door but it didn't seem to work, the wood was just too warped to be pulled open, it was much easier to..., "Push, Elliot, push, Elliot!"

"Mum!"

"Hurry up!"

"Mummy…"

"Come on!" Tony groaned, hearing the fear in his grandson's voice, pulling the door open.

"Elliot!" Ambrose shouted, rushing outside, only to see Elliot was gone, "Where is he?" she ran out to the front steps, "He was here. He was here! Elliot!" she ran off into the graveyard.

"Ambrose, don't go running off!" the Doctor yelled.

"Ambrose!" Tony darted off after her.

~8~

"Elliot!" Ambrose shouted, running through the gravestones to try and find her son, but he was nowhere, "It's mum!" she stopped short, seeing Elliot's headphones on the ground, "No!" she breathed, kneeling down, about to pick them up, when suddenly a creature knocked her down to the ground. She looked up, wide eyed, at the reptilian creature looming over her, "Get off me!"

The creature just scanned her with some sort of device when Tony came bounding down and knocked the creature away. It lashed out with its tongue, nicking Tony in the neck before running away.

"Dad!" Ambrose cried as Tony fell down onto a gravestone in pain, clutching at his neck.

"What happened?" the Doctor ran over with Rory and Amy.

"My dad's hurt."

"Get him into the church now!"

"Elliot's gone. They've killed him, haven't they?"

"I don't think so. They've taken three people, when they could've just killed them up here. There's still hope, Ambrose. There is always hope. Especially with Angel there."

Ambrose started to cry, "Then why've they taken him?"

"I don't know. I'll find Elliot, I promise. But first I've gotta stop this attack. Please, get inside the church."

"Come on, dad," Ambrose helped Tony up, Amy coming to help her support the man as they walked back to the church.

"So, what now?" Rory looked at him.

~8~

The Doctor walked down the path that led around the church, wearing sunglasses. He looked around, seeing the heat signature of everything around him through the lenses. He glanced down at his hand and smiled, seeing it glowing red with heat. He stiffened, straightening when he spotted something in the bushes that wasn't giving off heat.

"Cold blood," he muttered before calling out in a sing-song, "I know who they are!" he walked around the Meals on Wheels van, whistling a merry tune before pulling the fire extinguisher from the front seat and shutting the door. In the window's reflection he could see one of the creatures running towards him. He spun around and attacked it using the fire extinguisher, spraying it down with the chilling mist. The creature screamed as Rory jumped out of the van's back with a cry, throwing a blanket over its head. They grabbed the creature and shoved it into the refrigerated back, locking the door.

"We got it!" Rory grinned.

He'd insisted on helping the Doctor on this little mission, despite Amy claiming she should go. He wanted to be the one to help capture whatever it was they'd just captured. If this creature was one of the ones who took Angel he wanted to have a hand in stopping it and getting her back.

"Defending the planet with Meals on Wheels!"

They raised their hands to high-five but were distracted by another rumbling, "What was that?" Rory tensed, half expecting a horde of creatures to attack them.

"Sounds like they're leaving."

"Without this one?" he jerked a thumb at the van as the darkness disappeared and the sun peeked through, "Looks like we scared them off!"

"I don't think so. Now both sides have hostages."

~8~

Angel woke slowly and rather groggily to find herself encased in a clear white box, more like a clear glass box that had streaks of milky white in it, which made everything through it rather hazy. She took a few breaths, trying not to completely panic and not wanting to use the Vortex to break out. If whoever had taken her discovered her powers…she didn't want to think about what that could mean as she didn't even know why she'd been taken. No, it was best to play dumb, play helpless, which, if she had to admit she was probably rather good at. It would add more evidence to her one theory that the Doctor regretted Mating to her and was trying to block her out.

Why would anyone want to tie themselves to _her_ for the rest of their lives anyway? She couldn't even workout how to help a simple case of amnesia! She couldn't stop herself from being pulled under the ground. She really only had her visions and her fixing the TARDIS to her name.

Nothing spectacular at all.

Nothing, she could think, that would interest whoever had taken her.

"Is anyone there?" she called, knocking gently on the glass above her, "Please, let me out! Hello? Please, if you can hear me, I need to get out of here!" she tensed though when a distorted figure approached her and leaned over the glass, not very visible though she could make out a white surgical mask over its nose and mouth and...green skin, "Please…can you et me out of here?"

"Shh!" the figure hissed quietly, bringing a finger to its lips.

"Please," she swallowed hard, her hand on her stomach, her panic slowly rising, "Let me go! Please I can't be in here. You need to let me go!"

The figure just turned and pushed something and suddenly a gas started to fill the box.

"NO!" she screamed, her hearts going crazy as she tried to bang on the glass around her, she didn't know what it was, what the gas was, what it would do, how her body would react to it, how...how the baby would react, "No! No no, _don't_ do that. Please stop! Not gas!" she started coughing heavily, curling up on her side, her hand resting on her stomach as it clenched in pain, terrifying her more than anything else, "Please...stop..." she begged for the sake of the baby, until the gas had gotten her and she fell unconscious.

The masked figure tilted its head to the side, confused by the rather extreme reaction the specimen had displayed.

~8~

The Doctor stiffened as he stood outside the church with Rory and Amy, Ambrose grieving inside with Tony and Nasreen, the human companions sitting on a toppled grave marker.

"Doctor?" Amy called, noticing his sudden tensing and the look on his face.

"That's…odd…" he placed a hand on his right heart.

"What is?" Rory asked.

"I think I just…felt Angel…" he frowned, thinking on it.

He _had_. For a brief second...he'd felt a terrible flash of fear before it fizzled away. And he knew...it wasn't _his_ fear that he'd felt. His hearts started to pound even after the flash faded. Something inside him reacting to the sensation.

"So?" Rory shook his head, "Why's that odd?"

"Because that's impossible. That can only happen when…" he trailed off, his mind flashing back to the Dream Lord's words.

'...a _friend who also happens to be bonded to your TARDIS..._ '

And then a ghost-like whisper filtered through him and he winced...

'... _the ONLY time two people bond to the same TARDIS is when_...'

And he could _see_ her, Angel, standing before him in the console room, the first regeneration after Van Statten, the adorable blonde that had been just so innocent and not at all understanding of humans, with a look of absolute shock in her eyes…

He shook his head sharply at that. No, he knew she was bonded to the TARDIS, he'd checked, but she _wasn't_ bonded to him, Mated to him. It was impossible. He'd certainly remember something as monumental as a _Mating_. No, no, no, no, no Angel was NOT his Mate. She didn't act like it, he didn't act like it to her either, no they were just friends, the last of their kind them. They were just...close...

"Maybe it's because you're both the last of your kind?" Amy suggested, as though reading his mind, "You're more…I don't know…aware?"

"Yes…" he nodded, blinking a bit, "That probably it."

Their people WERE mildly telepathic, it made sense that, if Angel was truly and deeply frightened, so much so that it was that powerful, that he might get a small flash of it. Yes...that had to be it, because the other alternative was impossible. But...that also meant that, Angel was _truly_ and _deeply_ afraid at that very moment and that alarmed him.

He'd waited long enough, he had to find out what was going on and get her back.

"So these creatures…" Rory began, _not_ wanting to think of Angel being afraid somewhere, especially in her condition, otherwise he knew he was likely to punch the Doctor for it, no they needed to know what the creatures were and how to fight them, "What are they?"

"I've met them before. Different branch of the species, but all the same..." he turned and headed towards the church, "Let's see if our friend's thawed out!"

~8~

"Doctor, are you _sure_ about this?" Amy asked as she and Rory followed him down to the church's basement, "By yourself?"

They paused in the doorway, looking out at the creature sitting on the floor in the back of the room in the shadows, "Very sure," he nodded.

"But the sting..." Rory began, thinking of the thing they'd seen strike Tony earlier.

"Venom gland takes at least 24 hours to recharge. Am I right?" he called to the creature, before glancing at them, "I know what I'm doing. I'll be fine."

Rory and Amy exchanged an uncertain glance at that, clearly not believing him, before Amy took Rory's hand and led him out.

The Doctor walked down the remaining steps to the floor and looked at the reptilian creature staring at him with large dark eyes, wearing a sort of chainmail. The hands were bound and it moved along the floor towards the Doctor. He held his hands up, "I'm the Doctor. I've come to talk. I'm going to remove your mask," he squatted before it and pulled off the mask, revealing a scaled, though humanoid and female, face beneath, "You are beautiful. Remnant of a bygone age on planet Earth. And by the way, lovely mode of travel! Geothermal currents, projecting you up through a network of tunnels. Gorgeous! Mind if I sit?" he stood up and grabbed a folding chair from the side of the room, placing it before her and sitting, "Now, your people have a very good, very special friend of mine. I want her _back_ ," he said, a firm note in his voice, an edge to his tone that made the creature narrow her eyes at him, "Why did you come to the surface? What do you want?" but she just glared at him, "Oh, I do hate a monologue. Give us a bit back. How many are you?"

"I'm the last of my species," she stated.

"Really? No. 'Last of the species,' the Klempari Defense. As an interrogation defense, it's a bit old hat, I'm afraid."

"I'm the _last_ of my species."

"No. You're really _not_. Because me and the girl you took are the last of our species and I know how it sits in a heart. So don't insult me," he took a breath, feeling a flash of fear strike him again, but his own this time, Angel and him...they were the _last_ , and if they had done _anything_ to her, hurt her...he swallowed, if she wasn't alright...he really didn't know what he'd do, "Let's start again. Tell me your name."

"Alaya."

"How long has your tribe been sleeping under the earth, Alaya? It's not difficult to work out. You're 300 million years out of your comfort zone. Question is, what woke you now?"

"We were attacked."

"The drill," he guessed.

"Our sensors detected a threat to our life support systems. The warrior class was activated to prevent the assault. We will wipe the vermin from the surface and reclaim our planet!"

"Do we have to say vermin? They're really very nice. Angel just loves them, quite a bit of her family are humans you know."

"Primitive apes."

"Extraordinary species if they've managed to earn her love and my respect. You attack them, they'll fight back. Which is _not_ something Angel would be happy with. Fighting means war, war means death, and Angel hates death. So, for her, I'm willing to broker a peace between your species and the humans even though you've taken her from me," his jaw tensed at that, reminded once more he was dealing with the creature that had pulled her right out of his grip.

"This land is _ours_. We lived here long before the apes."

"Doesn't give you automatic rights to it now, I'm afraid. Humans won't give up the planet."

"So we destroy them."

"You underestimate them."

"You underestimate us."

"One tribe of homo-reptilia against six _billion_ humans and _me_ , you've got your work cut out," he leaned back, watching her.

Normally he wouldn't take sides, he'd try to be the peacekeeper, the neutral party but... _they'd_ taken _Angel_. That was already a strike against them. And, he supposed, the Dream Lord was right, Angel was the peacekeeper of the two of them, how she managed to keep him so calm was a miracle given his temperament. He could count at least a dozen wars he'd nearly started on accident, either being rude or arrogant or jesting when he shouldn't, all wars Angel had prevented just by being her kind old self and pointing out his rude behavior or apologizing for him or turning the jest into an actual joke by her natural confusion over some topics. She just...made everything lighter, brighter, kinder...she made _him_ kinder.

When she wasn't there he could feel it, that darkness that had been in him since the War clawing to the surface...

~oOo~

_"I know there's a darkness in you," Angel said gently._

_He looked up at her sharply, stunned, he'd...he'd tried to hide it, as best he could. He...he didn't want to scare her, didn't want her to see just how terrible he could be deep down. She was just...so sweet and kind, the thought that he...wasn't, or at least not always, that he was capable of such awful things, that his temper could sometimes get the best of him...it scared him. What if she saw the darkness in him and was disgusted by it? What if she hated him because of it? What if...what if she was scared of him? He couldn't bear that. So he'd tried so hard to not let her see that deeply into him, to see how dark that pit in him truly was. To know she saw it despite all that..._

_Angel squeezed his hands, cutting off his thoughts, "I understand and I don't blame you, I don't hate you for it either. After everything that happened in the War, everything you've been through, everything you lost, everything you had to do…" she shook her head, "I'd be completely surprised if you didn't have a darkness in you."_

_He looked down and she could see the shame in his eyes this time, "You don't."_

_"I have no desire for revenge and no wish to change things," she explained, shrugging lightly, unable to really express why she felt that way given all that had happened, "I don't know if it's hindsight or maybe just an affect of being a precog, but..." she shook her head, taking a breath, "What happened to our people wasn't your fault. It was going to happen anyway. Our civilization could only last so long before becoming corrupt by its own power. Everything, all things, must die at some point," she reminded him lightly, "And I didn't lose nearly as much as you did," she reached out and put a hand on his cheek, lifting his face to look at her, "But I'll always be here to pull you out of that darkness, always."_

_He looked her in the eye for quite a while before smiling gently, seeing nothing of the feared hate in her eyes but simply genuine love, "You truly are an angel you know," he told her, reaching out to stroke her cheek, "My guardian angel, guiding my way."_

_"Always," she promised, taking the hand on her cheek to kiss the scars on his knuckles gently._

~oOo~

Alaya stood, making him look up at her, "We did not initiate combat," she spat, "But we can still win."

"Tell me where my friend is. You give her back to me, you give us back the people who were taken..."

"No."

He sighed and shook his head, slowly getting up, "I'm not going let you provoke a war, Alaya," he told her, folding up the chair and putting it away, "There'll be no battle here today," he turned and headed for the door.

"The fire of war is already lit. A massacre is due."

He looked back at her, "Not while I'm here, not while Angel is alive."

"I'll gladly die for my cause. What will you sacrifice for yours?"

Without another word, the Doctor turned and left.

~8~

The Doctor, Tony, and Rory were sitting, Amy beside Rory, while Ambrose stood and Nasreen leaned on some equipment, all of them gathered in the church as the Doctor explained what Alaya had revealed and what he was planning to do about it.

"You're going to what?!" Tony shook his head at the mad plan.

"Amy and I are going to go down below the surface, to find the rest of the tribe," the Doctor said, "To talk to them."

Rory turned to Amy, "Why do _you_ get to go with him?!" he couldn't understand why _he_ wasn't allowed to go help HIS Pilot. But Amy was insistent that it be _her_ just as he'd insisted it be him to capture Alaya.

" _I_ was going to help Tony," Amy admitted quietly, squeezing Rory's hand, "But Angel told me to go instead. She took my place. She's trapped down there because of me. _I_ have to go help her."

"And we're going to need someone to keep things calm up here," the Doctor nodded at Rory, trusting the man, as Angel's companion, to be able to keep things under control and peaceful.

"You're going to negotiate with these aliens?" Ambrose scoffed.

"They're not aliens!" the Doctor cut in, "They're Earth...liens! Once known as the Silurian race, or, some would argue, Eocenes, or homo-reptilia. Not monsters, not evil," he stood, "Well, only as evil as you are. The previous owners of the planet, that's all. Look, from their point of view, _you're_ the invaders. Your drill was threatening their settlement. Now, the creature in the crypt, her name's Alaya. She's one of their warriors and she's my best bargaining chip. I need her _alive_. If she lives, so does Angel, and Elliot and Mo," Amy frowned, eyeing him, the tone of his voice...it was almost like he was saying that was the _only_ reason Alaya was alive, as a bargaining chip and not because she was a living and breathing being, "Because I _will_ find Angel and the others. While I'm gone, you four people, in this church, in this corner of planet Earth, you have to be the best of humanity."

"What if they come back?" Tony worried, "Shouldn't we be examining this creature, dissecting it, finding its weak points?"

"No dissecting! No examining! We return their hostage, they return ours. Nobody gets harmed. We can land this, together. If you are the best you can be. If you are the decent, brilliant, amazing people Angel believes you are at heart. Nobody dies today. Understand?"

Everyone nodded as Nasreen applauded quietly but stopped when no one else did it as well. Amy, though, just smiled at her, understanding the woman's actions.

~8~

The Doctor and Amy had just reached the TARDIS while Nasreen ran up behind them, "No, sorry, no, what're you doing?" he turned to her.

"Coming with you, of course!" she smiled, before eyeing the TARDIS, "What is it, some kind of transport pod?"

"Sort of, but you're not...coming with us," the Doctor shook his head as Tony came up.

"He's right, you're not," Tony nodded.

"I have spent _all my life_ excavating the layers of this planet," Nasreen crossed her arms, "And now you want me to stand back while you head down into it? I don't think so!"

The Doctor checked his watch, "I don't have time to argue!"

"I thought we were in a rush."

"It won't be safe Nasreen," Amy warned.

"Neither is crossing the road."

"Oh, for goodness sake," the Doctor huffed, growing more agitated by the second that Angel was down there, alone and afraid, "Alright, then! Come on!" he unlocked the TARDIS and he and Amy ran in.

"Come back safe," Tony stopped Nasreen for a moment.

"Of course," she smiled at him and entered, doing a double take when she saw the size of it.

"Welcome aboard the TARDIS," the Doctor said quickly from the console, "Now don't touch anything! Very precious. And Angel might just kill me if you break something."

Nasreen walked over from the doorway, "No way! But that's...this is..." she whacked him on the arm, "Fantastic! What does it do?"

"Pretty much everything!" Amy laughed at the woman's reaction.

"I'm hoping, if we're going down, that barricade won't interfere," the Doctor mumbled a moment before the TARDIS pitched drastically. They all clung to the console, "Did either of you touch something?!"

"No!" Nasreen and Amy shouted.

"Isn't this what it does?!" Nasreen asked.

"I'm not doing anything!" the Doctor said, "We've been hijacked! I can't stop it! They must've sensed the electro-magnetic field!" he looked at the monitor, watching as dirt flew past it, "They're pulling the TARDIS down into the Earth!"

~8~

Rory, Tony, and Ambrose stopped at the bottom of the steps to the cellar to look at Alaya as she stood and sneered at them, "You had to come and see me."

"We are going to keep you safe," Rory told her.

"Your tribe are going to give us back our people, in exchange for you," Ambrose added.

"No," Alaya walked forward as far as the chains allowed, "Shall I tell you what's _really_ going to happen, apes? One of you will kill me. My death shall ignite a war. And every stinking ape shall be wiped from the surface of my beloved planet."

"We won't allow that to happen," Tony glared.

"I know apes better than you know yourselves. _I_ know which one of you will kill me. Do you?"

Rory sighed, watching the woman-like creature before him, thinking back on Angel's words, he would have to keep very close eye on Alaya, lest she cause them even more trouble and unease.

~8~

Tony collapsed on a chair in the church's basement only a few minutes after they had left Alaya, holding a small mirror to his neck, looking at the wound from Alaya's venom, the green poison spreading through his blood, turning the veins on his chest green.

~8~

The Doctor, Amy, and Nasreen held onto the console, yelling as the TARDIS landed with a crash, sending them to the ground.

"Where are we?" Nasreen breathed.

The Doctor and Amy just scrambled to their feet and ran for the doors, all too familiar with that sort of landing, Nasreen following after them. Her eyes widened even more when she saw the cavernous room they'd landed in, roots and fungus covering the walls. A bit of water dripped on her and she dodged to the side.

The Doctor whistled in amazement, looking up at the way they came, "Looks like we fell through the bottom of their tunnel system. Don't suppose it was designed for handling something like this."

"How far down did we go?" Amy squinted up as well.

"A lot more than 21 kilometers."

"So why aren't we burning alive?" Nasreen wondered.

"Don't know. Interesting, isn't it?"

"It's like this is everyday to you!"

"Not _every_ day."

"Every _other_ day," Amy joked before grabbing the Doctor's arm, "Now let's find Angel and the others and get them out of here!" she pulled him ahead and down one of the tunnels, Nasreen shaking her head as she followed.

~8~

Angel groaned as she woke up, her head pounding from the lingering affects of the gas, to find herself standing upright against an examining board, her arms and legs were clasped down against it. Feeling far too much like she was back in Van Statten's museum and the other hospitals she'd been held at she struggled, trying to get out, about ready to use the Vortex when...

"Don't struggle," someone whispered, startling her. She looked over to see a man in a similar predicament beside her, his shirt opened, "Close your eyes and don't struggle."

"Why?" Angel breathed, "What going to happen?"

"Decontamination, they call it. They did it to me. While I was conscious."

"Did what?" she swallowed, feeling herself starting to shake at what might be coming.

"Dissected me," he looked down at his stomach where there was a long, straight, healing scar.

"No…" Angel gasped, looking down at her stomach, the tiny bump invisible under her flowy dress.

Oh dear God no...

"He's coming!" the man tensed, hearing footsteps approaching, "I'm sorry. I wish I could help you."

Angel looked over as one of the reptilian creatures approached her, a surgeon's mask over his nose and mouth, and she knew it was the same man that she'd seen through the glass of the box before. Now though, he was wearing an operating apron and holding up a large syringe, which made her hearts freeze...

~8~

The Doctor had taken the lead, walking past an opening with Amy while Nasreen stopped to look back at that path, spotting an odd glow, "We're looking for a small tribal settlement," the Doctor told them, "Probably housing around a dozen homo-reptilia. Maybe less."

"One small tribe?" Nasreen called, looking out at something bathed in a warm light down the second path.

The Doctor and Amy made their way back, "Yeah."

"Maybe a dozen?"

"What is it?" Amy frowned as they joined her.

"Ah…" the Doctor let out a breath at the sight beyond the carved out window Nasreen was peering through. Out there was a large community, verging on a city, with their own buildings and monuments, "Maybe more than a dozen. Maybe more like an entire civilization living beneath the earth."

To be continued...

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that technically, when you're alive, it's called vivisection, but I'm just following the episode in terms of referring to it as dissection :) But aww, who loved the Rory moment of him reminding them Angel's not a battery, he's so protective! Lol, I can imagine him pulling a River and 'handcuffing' himself to Angel to make sure she'll always be ok. I feel like she was really the first person to not only notice him, but see him as an amazing person and that it'll stick with him much more, her faith in him, and make him that much closer to her :) But oh Rory, misinterpreting Angel's warning :( I suppose that's the downside of unclear visions/prophecies, you might think it's one thing and it ends up being another :(
> 
> But oh no...Angel felt a sharp pain when the gas hit her... :( And now she may or may not be 'dissected!' I can't even promise she won't be, I did it to Evy }:) We'll have to wait and see, though I can say that I DO have an epic twist planned for Cold Blood that actually won't appear till much, much later in the saga...which might sound confusing at the moment lol, but it'll work itself out in time :)


	27. Cold Blood: Rescue

" _This is the story of our planet, Earth, of the day 1,000 years past when we came to share it with a race known as humanity. It is the story of the Doctor and his Angel who helped our races find common ground and the terrible losses they suffered. It is the story of our past and must never be forgotten._ "

~8~

The Doctor and Amy strode through a cavernous pathways of the underground city while Nasreen walked cautiously alongside them, glancing at the magma and buildings around them, still not sure exactly how this was all possible. The heat of the magma alone should have been enough to kill them dead in mere seconds, yet they were fine. The Doctor, well, she supposed Amy at least, didn't look perturbed in the slightest by that fact. She didn't doubt the Doctor had ample experience with strange situations like this, though, now that she thought on it, she supposed Amy would have too. But still...how was it even possible? How had an entire civilization existed beneath the Earth's crust and they'd never discovered it? There were films about that sort of thing, she knew, but she never thought they'd actually be right!

"This place is enormous and deserted," the Doctor began speaking out loud as they walked.

Well, he hadn't really _stopped_ speaking since they'd gotten there actually. It was concerning Amy quite a bit since, she knew he could ramble, but he was actually _making sense_ now! He was actually talking about what they were facing and making deductions and giving them useful information. And she knew what that meant, he had to be really, _really_ worried about the others. He was hardly ever serious unless someone he cared for was in danger.

She'd been watching the Doctor closely ever since Angel had been taken, she knew how terrible he must have felt, especially with Rory starting in on him about it, to lose Angel so suddenly and in such a way as he had, with her pulled right out from under him...literally. They were the last of their kind, him and Angel, and she knew his greatest fear, probably even greater than losing the TARDIS, would be to lose Angel and truly be alone. She'd seen how he acted when Angel wasn't there, how he spoke. Every time his attention always drifted to her, whether it was towards the last place she'd walked off to or just in the general direction of wherever she was. He talked about her, kept bringing her up, kept mentioning her repeatedly as though he were trying to keep her with him in spirit or something. He truly should never be alone, never be without Angel. She might have thought he loved the Time Lady or felt something more than the friendship he claimed to only have with her because of that...if it had not been for River.

She was _fully convinced_ that River was the Doctor's future wife. The way the woman acted, the way she talked and flirted with him...it was far too comfortable and intimate for River to not know him that way. And...he hadn't denied it when she'd asked him during the _Byzantium_ incident. True, if River was from his future, a future he hadn't lived yet, it was possible that he really didn't know. But the fact that he didn't outright deny it must mean that he at least was open to the possibility that River WAS his wife or someone equally as important. And he didn't treat Angel like she treated Rory...she winced at that, he didn't treat Angel like she NOW treated Rory or better than she had treated him. There were moments, yes, when they appeared closer than what she knew they were or what the Doctor claimed they were, but those seemed to be when Angel was in danger so it was normal for emotions to be heightened.

But still...she _did_ notice a shift in him when Angel wasn't there. He was testy more, short, snippy, he snapped easier, he seemed to hunch more and frown and...tense. Like now. He was half-striding, half-storming down the halls, his hands clenched into fists, his back rigid, his shoulders hunched as though he were stalking to someone. And he was talking not-nonsense! He was actually focused on the matter at hand and being useful! Which was a very big change from how he normally was. He probably would have just been spouting nonsense and jokes about magma or them 'not getting themselves into a lava' or some other such ridiculous and terrible joke. But there he was...being serious for once. And she knew it was more because Angel was in danger than the others.

"The majority of the race are probably still asleep," he continued, pulling Amy from her thoughts as he took out the sonic and began to scan, "We need to find Angel, looking for heat signature anomalies."

"And Mo and Elliot," Amy added, frowning at that.

"Yes, yes, and them," he nodded.

"But, Doctor, how can all this be here?" Nasreen shook her head as they reached a tunnel, "I mean, these plants..." she gestured at one, feeling the leaf to see if it was actually physically real...it was.

"Must be getting closer to the center of the city."

"You're sure this is the best way to enter?"

"Front door approach! Definitely. Always the best way..."

An alarm started to blare the moment they reached the door at the end of the tunnel, while a female voice spoke over a speaker, "Hostile life force detected, Area 17."

"You were saying?" Amy glared at him as they stopped.

"Apart from the backdoor approach, that's also good," he turned around, trying to think of a way out of this, "Sometimes better."

"Hostile life force detected, Area 17."

The door before Nasreen whooshed open as she and Amy gasped, "Doctor!"

He spun around to see armed Silurian soldiers coming through the door with even more arriving behind them. He raised his hands, motioning for them to do the same, "We're _not_ hostile, we're not armed!" he pulled the girls' arms up when they just stood there, staring in alarm at the guns aimed at them, "We're here in peace!"

The Silurians barely listened to him as they shot a gas from their weapons, knocking them all out instantly.

~8~

In the laboratory, the Silurian doctor stepped up to Angel, "Please," she eyed the really rather sharp cutting tool in his hands, "Don't…"

She was terrified, _beyond_ terrified, of the sharp object getting closer and closer to her stomach. She...she wanted to use the Vortex, she could feel it thrashing inside her, wanting to be released, wanting to throw the doctor back and break apart the restraints, free Mo as well, and get them both out of there. But she wasn't letting it. She was stronger than the last time the Vortex had lashed out, more aware of _why_ it was reacting so instantly to her danger, and...she was _scared_. The Vortex had damaged her often in the past. Using too much of it had nearly made her regenerate on Mars, HAD made her regenerate on Kroptor. It left her weak, it left her hurting, and...she couldn't risk it, not with the baby. The Vortex was similar to regeneration energy in how truly powerful and devastating it could be. It could heal, yes, but equally it could injure.

She _couldn't_ risk the baby.

She was probably _incredibly_ lucky that she hadn't lost the baby during the dealings with the 456, or on Mars, or when she'd fallen through a ceiling into Naismith manor, or when the Vortex had flared up in the Calvierri school...she couldn't believe she'd done all that while pregnant. It terrified her more than she could say to think she might have lost the baby and not even realized because of those events. But now that she knew, now that she was aware, _everything_ was different. Until she knew _exactly_ what affect the Vortex would have on the baby...she couldn't risk huge displays of it, she just...she _couldn't_. If she lost the baby...

And that cutting tool was getting even closer.

"Please!" she begged, squirming, trying to push herself farther back into the examination board, away from the device.

"Leave her alone!" the man shouted, hearing the tremor of fear in her voice and struggling in his own restraints to try and stop the doctor, "You got me!"

The doctor just pulled down his medical mask to reveal his scaled face and pushed as small button in his hand, locking her in place by the wrists painfully, wincing as she gave a small cry of pain, the angle of the restraints making it awkward and likely to bruise, "Commencing dissection," he reached for her.

"Silurian!" Angel called in a last ditch effort to buy time, for what she honestly didn't know, her mind was racing too much to make sense of anything, fear clouding it, but she felt it, if she could just make him wait a moment longer... "You're a Silurian."

He eyed her in shock, his mouth falling open at her knowledge, "How do you know our race?"

"I'm not human," Angel breathed, panted really, "Your tests will be contaminated if you use me as a subject. I'm _not_ human."

The doctor's eyes widened, startled, "Yet you appear similar to that specimen," he nodded at Mo.

" _He_ appears similar to _me_ ," she countered, "Time Lords came first."

The doctor frowned, suspicious that the woman might be lying and about to open her up to see if she was...

When, "Area 17 incursion, species diagnostic requested," came over the speakers, "Area 17 incursion, species diagnostic requested."

He gave her one last look before sighing and leaving the lab, taking the button controlling the restraints with him.

Angel let out a sigh of relief, watching the doctor go until the doors had shut before looking at the clamps on her wrist. A moment later a golden spark snapped the metal up, allowing her out.

"How did you do that?!" the man's eyes widened, having been watching her, confused as to why she'd gone from fighting to get out to so suddenly focused.

"I wasn't lying about not being human," she told him, making her way over to him, "I don't really lie," she murmured, placing a hand on each of his clamps as well, a golden spark snapping his restraints open too, "Come on, we need to leave before he gets back."

Mo groaned, trying to get off the table as she rushed to help him, putting his arm around her shoulders to support him, "That creature," he winced as they slowly made their way out of the lab and into the hallway beyond, "Is it an alien too? Any more of them do you think? Do you think the Earth's been invaded?"

"It's not an alien, it's called a Silurian," she explained, having picked up just enough of that from the Doctor, "It's lived on the Earth before the humans but went into hibernation. I don't know if there are more, but I'd have to say yes, I don't know how many though. I know someone who probably worked it all out by now, we just need to find him. He's here somewhere, I can feel it. Oh, I'm Angel by the way."

"Mo," he greeted.

"Nice to meet you Mo."

He let out a slightly pained though amused laugh at how she was making pleasantries at a time like this, though he supposed it was to try and keep his mind off everything, "Likewise," he grunted as they stopped by a door and looked at it, "Maybe it's a way out of here?"

Angel looked around for a doorknob but only spotted a panel on the wall beside the door, hesitantly putting her hand on it as Mo looked inside. The lights came on to reveal Elliot standing there! There were wires attached to him all over, the boy just standing with his eyes closed, in some sort of stasis, "Oh, my God, no."

"What is it?" Angel frowned, moving over to look through, her hearts falling into her stomach at the sight, her mind flashing back to the children the 456 had taken, though Elliot looked much better taken care of than them and...she hadn't sensed any ill intent from that Silurian doctor.

Mo frantically tried to force the door open, "It's my son. It's Elliot. What've they done to him?" he turned to the panel on the door, trying it, "No! He's in there! We have to get him out! Elliot! Elliot, it's dad!"

"Access denied," the computerized voice of the panel stated, "Unauthorized genetic imprint."

Angel reached out and took Mo's hands off the door so he wouldn't hurt himself trying to break through metal, "Mo, calm down, Elliot's fine."

"That's my boy in there!" he cried.

"Just trust me. I just… _know_ things sometimes. People joke that I'm psychic. And I'm telling you Elliot's _fine_. These screens," she pointed to a few on the other side of the door, "They're monitoring him. He's still alive."

"Alright," Mo took a breath, running a hand through his hair, "We find weapons, get that creature from the lab, and force it to release Elliot, yeah?"

Angel blinked, "Or we could just ask him nicely," she remarked, before shaking her head as he moved to argue, "We _will_ get him out though," she promised, "Cross my hearts," she crossed them as well and looked down the tunnel, "Come on," she whispered, leading him off, Mo glancing back at his son's room as the light went out.

~8~

Ambrose knelt on the ground, holding Elliot's headphones, just staring at them in solemn shock of all that had happened, when Rory joined her, "Ambrose..."

"You lied. You told us you were the police."

"It was a misunderstanding..."

"Who _are_ you? You and the Doctor and those girls? Why is this happening to us? What did we ever do?"

"The Doctor'll get your son back, I promise," Rory knelt before her, "And if he can't," he smiled, "Angel's got a history of saving people he can't it seems. In the meantime, we take turns guarding the creature."

"So that's it? We sit and...and wait."

"And then we exchange her for your family and Angel," Rory nodded, "I promise you Ambrose, I'd trust my Pilot with my _life_ ," he said firmly, meaning every word of it. He'd only known Angel a short time, but...he trusted her, after everything she'd done for him and Amy she'd earned it, she'd earned his respect and trust and he was doing his best to earn hers as well...he knew he HAD it, but he wanted to feel like he'd earned it too, "And the Doctor is Amy's Pilot, she trusts him, I trust her. And he's doing this for Angel so that makes me trust him more. We stick to his plan. We prove to the Silurians that we're worth an _alliance_ with instead of a war. And we do that by keeping that creature safe, ok?"

Ambrose gave a small nod.

~8~

The Doctor was tied to an examination board, shouting in pain as the machine before him scanned him, the pain even a bit worse than the scanner Van Statten had used, a female Silurian warrior standing by it, talking to a Silurian doctor, "How can they have _escaped_?! This proves all prisoners should remain under military guard."

"I'm sure you'd prefer to be in charge of everything and everyone, Restac," he sighed, seeming weary of the female's attitude, "But we rank the same. Is there any word from Alaya?"

"No," she turned to watch the Doctor squirming, seeming to enjoy his suffering.

"It's fine to show concern, you know. She's part of your gene-chain. I'm decontaminating now."

"Decontamination!" the Doctor gasped, "No, no, no!"

And he couldn't help but feel completely terrified that this might have happened to Angel. He prayed she hadn't, Angel shouldn't be tortured like this...

~oOo~

_"I can't help it!" he defended, "I don't like hospitals, they give me the creeps!"_

_"I'm not much of a fan either," Angel added though, now starting to look around hesitantly, "Not all the people who bid for me and the Dalek just kept us locked up."_

_His face darkened, taking her hand and holding it tightly. He knew what she was implying. She'd never really talked about the people who had captured her and the Dalek or the others besides Van Statten that had gotten their hands on her over the years. But now, to hear a hint of it, to hear that she had probably been dissected at one point or another…she squeezed his hand back, instantly soothing his murderous thoughts, whatever had happened was in the past, clearly where Angel wanted to leave it._

~oOo~

He let out a cry of pain as Restac increased the scan.

~8~

Alaya sat on the floor of the cellar, meditating, when Tony stumbled in, the noise of it making her turn to look at him over her shoulder, "Why aren't you dead?" she eyed him, "You're carrying my venom in your blood. But you should have died. Why aren't you dead? Show me," he walked forward and tugged his shirt to the side, revealing his chest, green veins spreading across it, "How does it feel, ape?" she smirked.

"Like it's burning in my blood. Please," he begged, "If you help me, I can help you. If you could cure me, I could help you escape."

"You see? You beg, and offer betrayal, so early! Why would I want to escape when I can watch you _die_? The first ape death of the coming war," and with that, she returned to her meditation.

Tony looked at her solemnly, tears in his eyes, before he turned to struggle out of the room once more.

~8~

"It's alright," the Silurian doctor called, seeing the Doctor fighting the process, "It won't harm you. I'm only neutralizing all your ape bacteria."

"I'm not an ape!" the Doctor snapped, "Look at the scans! Two hearts! Totally different! Totally not ape! Totally Time Lord! Remove all human germs, you remove half the things keeping me alive."

The doctor frowned at those words, Time Lord, that was what the other human-like female had said. He hadn't decontaminated her, not even with such a scan. He'd decontaminated the male, but he wanted to see if any other results might be different post-decontamination as opposed to pre-decontamination. Though he wouldn't have been able to now, he realized, if she really wasn't human. He looked over at the scans a moment before jolting forward to shut down the machine, seeing that he was, in fact, NOT human.

"No, complete the process," Restac commanded.

"Oh, that's much better, thanks!" the Doctor breathed, "Not got any celery, have you? No, no, not really the climate, tomatoes, though, you'd do a roaring trade in those. I'm the Doctor," he glanced to the side to see Amy and Nasreen each strapped to an examination board similar to his, but awaiting their own decontamination, "Oh, and there's Nasreen and Amelia, good!"

"Oh, a green man," Nasreen gaped as the doctor went to examine her, Amy watching the man closely as he checked to see if they were human instead.

"Hello," the Doctor turned to the female Silurian that had been talking to the doctor, "Who are you?"

"Restac," she nearly sneered at him, "Military commander."

"Oh, dear, really? There's always a military, isn't there?"

"Your weapon was attacking the oxygen pockets above our city," the doctor explained.

"Oxygen pockets! Lovely! Ooh..." he nodded, starting to frown, "But not so good with an impending drill! _Now_ it makes sense!"

"Where is the rest of your invasion force?" Restac questioned.

"Invasion force? Me, lovely Nasreen, and beautiful Amelia Pond? No! We came for Angel, the other Time Lord you've got hidden around here, her and the humans you took. And...to offer the safe return of Alaya. Oh, wait, you and she," he looked at Restac closely, able to see a resemblance, "What is it, same genetic source? Of course you're worried," he nodded, understanding sibling concern, "But don't be, she's safe."

"You claim to come in peace, but you hold one of us hostage," Restac motioned for the soldiers that were lined in the back of the room to take position.

"Wait, wait! We all want the same thing here."

"I don't negotiate with apes," she sneered, "I'm going to send a clear message to those on the surface."

"What's that?"

"Your execution."

"Yes..."

~8~

Angel cautiously led Mo down the tunnels, Mo now able to walk on his own and completely confused as to how the girl seemed to know where she was going. She even seemed to know when a Silurian thing person was about to pass them and pulled him to the side to hide them from view. Maybe she really was psychic? He didn't know, whatever it was, he was glad for it. He did NOT need to be captured and decontaminated again.

They stopped down one tunnel, having ducked into it upon the sound of footsteps in the distance, and found there were chambers with glass covered alcoves on either side of the hall, "I've seen these things everywhere," Angel muttered, putting her hand over a sensor in the alcove. It lit up, revealing masked Silurian warriors inside.

Mo leapt back in surprise, "Uh! Turn it off quick!" Angel put her hand back on the panel and the lights went out, "They're not moving…maybe they're asleep?" he looked at her, "Turn that on again?"

Angel nodded and turned them on, only this time the glass doors slid open. She stepped forward and leaned into the alcove, looking up to see chutes above the warriors, "Maybe that's how they travel?" she murmured, she knew they were some sort of transportation, but what? Though, she supposed, if she was pulled down _into_ the Earth, maybe there was a way to be pushed up _out_ of it, "The Doctor would know. The Doctor always knows. It's how they came up to the surface. Some sort of powered transport discs. I can gather that much."

"Even better, weapons!" Mo took a gun from one of the soldiers and held one out to her, "Come on, now we can fight back."

"No," Angel shook her head, backing away from him, "No guns, _never_ again."

Mo eyed her a moment, but nodded, seeing a fear and a despair in her eyes, before taking the gun for himself. Angel closed the glass containers and Mo looked around, "Which way now?"

"That way," she pointed to a door at the end, just letting her feelings guide her back to the Doctor.

He nodded and they continued on, walking through another door to see a large chamber _filled_ with soldiers in stasis, "Wow."

"Oh..." Angel breathed, frowning at the sight.

... _the soldiers fired their ammunition_...

'... _execute all the apes!_...'

... _the humans fled through an archway_...

"We don't stand a chance."

"We need to find the Doctor," she mumbled, shaking her head from her vision, she needed to find him now and warn him of what might be coming, maybe they could achieve peace instead of that fight if she got to him in time. They turned and left the chamber, Angel following the sense of the only other Time Lord around.

~8~

Tony searched through a small cupboard till he found the first aid kit and a bottle of aspirin, "Dad, are you alright?" Ambrose called as she walked in, seeing him pale and sweaty and shaking, "Dad!"

"Ambrose, I'm fine! Leave me alone," he stumbled.

Ambrose leapt forward and helped him sit, "You are _not_ fine. Let me...let me look…" she reached out to him but he batted her hand away.

"Get off!"

"Let me _look_!" she unbuttoned his shirt and gasped at the sight of the veins, "Oh, my God, dad..."

"I don't know what's happening to me."

"It's going to be fine. First thing is bring this temperature down, get you resting," she helped him lie down on a table and turned to the doors, "Rory!" she called out.

~8~

The Doctor, Amy, and Nasreen were being escorted through the city through a section of large vegetation, "These must be the only ones awake," the Doctor was explaining, still with the useful facts, Amy was starting to miss the rambles about nonsense now, "The others must still be in hibernation."

"So, why did they go into hibernation in the first place?" Nasreen wondered.

"Their astronomers predicted a planet heading to Earth on a crash course. They a built life underground and put themselves to sleep for millennia in order to avert what they thought was the apocalypse. When in reality, it was the moon, coming into alignment with the Earth."

Restac and the others stopped and looked at him, "How can you know that?" the doctor asked.

"Long time ago, I met another tribe of homo-reptilia, similar, but not identical."

"Others of our species have survived?" Restac's gasped.

"The...humans attacked them. They died, I'm sorry."

"A vermin race," she hissed and continued on.

~8~

Ambrose walked down the stairs to the cellar having left her father under Rory's watch, eyeing Alaya, "What's the cure?"

"What?" Alaya glanced at her.

"I saw what you've done to my dad. What's the cure?"

"Why would I tell _you_?"

"'Cos if you don't, I'm going to have to use _this_ on you," she held up a taser.

" _Now_ you reveal yourselves."

"First you take my husband, then my son, now you hurt my dad. I'm just protecting my family here. That's all. I don't want to use it. I want you to put things right."

"Use it."

"What?" Ambrose blinked, startled.

"Use it on me. But you're too afraid," she walked up to Ambrose, "A woman who can't even protect her own child must be too weak to..." she walked into the taser and fell to her knees with a shriek.

"I didn't want to do that. Are you alright? Tell me, what's the cure for my dad?"

"He's vermin. He deserves a painful death."

"I'm giving you a _chance_."

"I knew it would be you. The one with the most to lose, the weakest..." she smirked up at her and Ambrose put the taser to Alaya's chest, the Silurian shuddered, falling to the floor.

~8~

Rory was tending to Tony in the church, "I'm a _nurse_ , you should've told me," he was saying, when they heard screaming.

They both got up and ran down to the cellar where the scream was coming from to see Alaya on the floor, wheezing, with Ambrose standing over her, taser in hand. Rory rushed to Alaya's side to see if he could help while Tony gaped at his daughter, "Ambrose...what've you _done_?!"

"She kept _taunting me_ about Mo and Elliot and you..." Ambrose wept.

"We have to be better than this!" Tony snatched the taser from her.

"She wouldn't tell me anything. I thought sooner or later, she'd give in. I would've done. I just...I just want my family back, dad."

"I'm sorry," Rory said to Alaya, clutching her hand, "How do we help you? Tell us what to do."

"I knew this would come," Alaya grinned, "And soon the war."

"You're _not_ dying. I'm not going to let you, not today..."

But it was too late, Alaya moaned and breathed her last, her head lulling to the side.

Rory swallowed hard and sat back on his heels, looking up at Ambrose and realized something... _Alaya_ hadn't been the woman Angel had warned him of, it had been _Ambrose_. He sighed and rubbed his forehead, closing his eyes, he could only imagine what would happen now.

~8~

Restac and the doctor entered a courtroom, followed by the soldiers escorting the Doctor, Amy, and Nasreen, "You're not authorized to do this!" the doctor warned her.

"I'm authorized to protect the safety of our species while they sleep," Restac replied.

"Oh, lovely place, very gleaming," the Doctor nodded at the area, large windows, high ceilings, rather shiny and sparkling, unable to help but think that Angel would love that room, she loved bright things and light filled areas.

"This is our court and our place of execution."

Ok, not so much loving the room now.

But before Restac could actually give the order for one, Mo jumped out, aiming a gun at Restac and another in the general direction of the Silurian guards, "Let them go!" he demanded.

"Mo!" Nasreen gasped.

"Angel!" Amy cheered, seeing Angel run through another door, Mo having gotten the lead on her at the sound of the voices, and quickly pulled the girl into a hug.

"Angel," the Doctor let out a breath of relief, pulling her from Amy's arms and holding her by the shoulders, looking her over, "Are you ok?"

She nodded, "I'm fine, I..." she cut off suddenly as the Doctor brushed a lock of hair from her face behind her ear, his hand lingering on her cheek even after, looking at her softly, relief evident in his eyes, such enormous relief. She didn't even think he realized that his thumb was lightly stroking her cheek.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her, feeling his hearts start to slow and the ache in his chest lighten now that she was ok, "I let you go."

She swallowed hard, he'd let her go in more ways than one hadn't he? But that wasn't what he was talking about at th emoment was he? She took a breath, "It's alright, I'm fine," she looked to the side, the motion causing the Doctor to drop his hand, "Mo took good care of me," she added.

The Doctor looked over at Mo, seeing the angry red lines on the man's chest and winced, closing his eyes briefly, thanking the stars that Angel hadn't suffered that fate, "Thanks," he called to the man.

Mo nodded in return, before focusing on Restac once more, "Now let them go, or I shoot," he threatened as Restac moved closer, "I'm warning you!"

Restac just yanked the guns from him and shoved him to the ground, threatening him with her tongue whip.

"Alright, Restac," the doctor spoke up, "You've made your point."

Restac walked up to him, "This is now a military tribunal. Go back to your laboratory, Malohkeh."

One of the soldiers pressed their gun to his back to get him to move, "This isn't the way," he sighed before turning to leave.

"Prepare them for execution!"

The soldiers moved, forcing the Doctor, Angel, Amy, Nasreen, and Mo to pillars in the back of the room where they were tied up.

"I'm sorry," Angel whispered to the Doctor as she and Amy were tied up by him, Mo and Nasreen across from them, "I tried to tell Mo it wouldn't work."

"I'm glad you're ok," the Doctor told her.

"Me too," Amy took her hand even as it was bound behind her, "But you know what…" she smiled, trying to lighten the mood, feeling Angel gripping her hand tightly, clearly worried, "Lizard men!"

"Homo-reptilia..." the Doctor countered, "They occupied the planet before humans and..."

"I know," Angel cut in gently, "They just want their home back," she murmured, empathizing with them.

"After they've wiped out the Human Race," Nasreen called as the soldiers lined up like a firing squad but didn't fire, "Why are they waiting? What do you think they're going to do with us?"

~8~

"I didn't know it would go like _that_ , dad," Ambrose wept, begging him to understand.

"Oh, my little girl, what have you done?" Tony hugged her.

"What happens now?" she asked, when there was a buzzing electrical sound and the lights flashed, before an old computer monitor flared to life with Restac on the screen, "Oh my God."

"Who is the ape leader?" Restac demanded.

"It's them. How are they doing that? How do they know that we're in here?" she quickly covered Alaya's body with a tarp.

"Who speaks for the apes?!" Restac called again, more angrily at being ignored the first time.

The humans looked at each other before Rory moved to step up, Tony grabbing his arm to whisper to him, "Don't tell them what's happened."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think I could do a 'dissection' scene again, at least not with Angel being pregnant. It killed me to do that to Evy and I'm not THAT cruel as to do it to Angel. But I can say that particular moment, that threat of it happening, will come back later in the saga, but I won't say how }:) But I gave you a little Thella moment there :) I have to say though, Rory's reaction to seeing Angel alive and ok is just...touching...and the Doctor's reaction to Rory's reaction is quite...well, he does tend to get jealous doesn't he, even if he doesn't know why?


	28. Cold Blood: Tension

Restac stood before a large holographic screen in the middle of the courtroom, allowing them all to watch as Rory stepped forward, "I speak for the...humans. Some of us, anyway."

Angel had to smile at that, look at her companion go! Oh Rory was just brilliant, standing up there, representing humanity. Rory was really...the _best_ example of it that she'd ever seen, well, him and Mickey. They were just so... _human_. They were empathetic and amazing and couldn't see it at all. But they were wonderful men with kind souls and warm hugs who would protect and defend the people they loved to their last breath. They were helpful and considerate and caring and compassionate. Funny and witty in their own ways and just...amazing. The Doctor hadn't seen it at first, he never seemed able to see it in her companions, but it was always there.

Potential.

 _That_ was what made the Human Race so strong and enduring and wonderful. They were flawed, so flawed, in so many ways, but so successful in others and they _tried_. THAT was what it was about. They kept _trying_ , they kept improving, they kept trying to better themselves and learn from their mistakes and move on and evolve. They were so curious and adventurous, sometimes it had to be gently urged but they always grew stronger with each challenge they faced. Some people, like the Doctor's companions, were just remarkable off the bat, strong, determined, brave, intelligent, ready for anything. And that was fine, that was fantastic really. But...and perhaps it was because of her history as a TARDIS farmer...she loved watching people _grow_ , watching them find their strengths and _become_ amazing right in front of her eyes. And they never saw it too, they never saw how amazing they were becoming, until someone pointed it out how they'd surpassed the people they used to be. She liked doing that, reminding humans of how amazing they were and seeing that look in their eyes when they realized how strong they'd become, when they realized...they were _proud_ of _themselves_.

THAT was what she loved about her companions.

"Do you understand who we are?" Restac asked, glaring at Rory.

"Sort of. A bit. Not really."

"We have ape hostages," Restac gestured behind her and the image grew smaller, zooming out to show Rory the 5 of them tied up.

"Angel! Amy! Doctor!" he rushed towards the screen as though he'd be able to reach in and grab them.

"Mo!" Ambrose gasped, tears in her eyes as she spotted her husband alive, "Mo, are you ok?"

"I'm fine, love!" Mo nodded, "I've found Elliot. I'm bringing him home!"

"Angel, are you alright?" Rory asked her, staring right at her with worry.

"I'm _fine_ Rory," she said, a meaningful look in her eye that she knew Rory caught. He was much more intelligent than the Doctor gave him credit for. Both her companions were.

Rory let out a breath of relief at that, visibly relaxing and sagging with it as he smiled, he'd caught her meaning, yeah, the baby was ok too, "Thank God."

"Tony Mack!" Nasreen grinned, spotting the man a bit behind the others.

"Having fun down there?" Tony asked with a forced laugh that made Angel start to frown, hearing a strain in his words, both...both from lying and pain.

"Not to interrupt, but just a quick reminder to stay calm," the Doctor cut in.

"Show me Alaya," Restac hissed, "Show me and release her, immediately, unharmed, or we kill your friends…one by one."

"No!" Ambrose pushed her way forward.

"Ambrose..." Rory warned, trying to pull her back.

"Steady now, everyone," the Doctor called.

"Ambrose, stop it!" Tony moved to help Rory.

"Get off me, dad!" Ambrose shoved them both away and turned back to the screen, "We didn't start this!"

"Ambrose, please, trust Rory, he _can_ do this," Angel called, knowing the woman would start something she wouldn't want to see the end of. That pit in the depths of her stomach twisted, realizing _this_ was the woman from her vision, this was the one who had likely caused or was about to cause problems.

"We're not doing what you say any more," Ambrose spat at Restac, "Now, give me back my family!"

"No," Restac glared, "Execute the ape-girl!" she commanded, assuming the other apes would react more to one of their own being targeted instead of one of the non-apes.

The soldiers moved towards Amy.

"No!" Rory shoved Ambrose away, "No, wait!"

"Rory!" Amy yelled, now scared.

Angel's eyes widened as she looked back and forth between Amy and the firing squad, before turning her attention to the ropes binding her.

"She's not speaking for us!" Rory argued as Amy was pushed between the pillars.

"There's no need for this..." the Doctor tried to get in.

"Listen! Listen! Whatever you want...we'll do it!"

"Aim," Restac lifted a hand to signal the soldiers.

Angel closed her eyes and a gold spark jumped across the ropes, snapping them apart.

"Amy!" Rory cried.

"Rory!" Amy screamed.

"Don't do this!" the Doctor shouted.

And Angel darted forward and ran in front of Amy...

~8~

"No!" Rory yelled, seeing that, just as the connection cut out and the screen moved to static.

~8~

"Fire!" Restac commanded.

"Angel!" the Doctor struggled to get out of his bonds, his hearts stopping completely in his chest, his body going numb as what felt like ice water raced through his veins. He could feel his head throbbing in fear as he saw her dart in front of Amy and pull the girl back, the guns now aimed at her and he was _terrified_! No, this couldn't be happening, not now, not to Angel, they'd _just_ gotten her back, what if...

But Angel just held her hand up, a brilliant wall of golden light springing to life before her and Amy as she tugged the girl behind her, the Silurians firing at the wall, but not managing to make a bolt past it.

"Enough!" an authoritative male voice shouted angrily from the back of the room. The firing halted immediately, Angel waiting a moment longer before lowering her hand and bringing down the golden wall so they could see what had happened. Restac had turned around to see Malohkeh enter with a Silurian Elder, "You want to start a war, while the rest of us sleep, Restac?" the elder nearly snarled at her, seeming completely disgusted with the sight before him.

If it hadn't been for that yellow light, _war_ could have been declared and he was not foolish enough to believe that the humans had remained primitive apes all those long years. Their race had evolved from tiny reptiles into what they were now, there was no way the humans wouldn't have done the same. He knew that, from what he'd seen of them before hibernating, that they would reproduce quickly, there would be infinitely more of them than of their own race, having been asleep for so long and not rebuilding themselves.

They could _not_ afford a war, not now. Not ever.

"The apes are _attacking_ us!" Restac defended.

"You're our _protector_ , _not_ our commander, Restac," he reminded her before turning to the other soldiers, "Unchain them. Now."

Restac held up a hand to stop them, "I do not recognize your authority at this time, Eldane."

"Well, then, you must shoot me."

Frustrated, Restac dropped her hand and moved to Malohkeh as the soldiers released them, "You woke him to undermine me."

"We're _not_ monsters," Malohkeh countered, "And neither are they."

"What is it about apes you love so much? Mmm?"

"While you slept, they've evolved. I've seen it for myself."

"We used to hunt apes for sport. When we came underground, they bred and polluted this planet."

"Shush now, Restac," Eldane interrupted, a firm note to his voice, "Go and play soldier. I'll let you know if I need you."

"You'll need me, then we'll see," Restac glared as she turned and stalked out.

Eldane sighed and approached the others, "I offer my most sincere apologies for her," he bowed his head.

The Doctor ignored him though, rushing over to Angel as soon as he was free, "What were you thinking!?"

Angel blinked, startled, as he grabbed her by the shoulders and stared at her with...fear in his eyes, "They were going to hurt Amy."

"They could have hurt _you_ too!" he shouted, giving her a tiny shake, his hearts had restarted, but that only served to make them race, pounding away in his chest, his mouth gone try, his hands shaking as he gripped her.

"I'm fine," she reassured him, resisting the urge to put a hand on his on her shoulders, afraid he might snap them away when he realized he was touching her.

He...he didn't really do that a lot, touch her, anymore. It was nice when he did, but torture when he pulled away because she never knew when he'd touch her again, even if it was something small, like a hug or a high-five or anything, she'd take anything. But still, in the same breath, it was also hard to have him touch her, knowing there was no intimacy or feeling behind it.

Though now he was quite obviously afraid for her.

"But you might not have been."

"But I knew I would be."

He blinked this time, "You felt it? You _saw_ it?"

She nodded, not exactly saying that she'd felt it _after_ it had happened. She'd just...reacted...to seeing Amy in danger, not only was she the Doctor's companion but her own companion's fiancé! She couldn't just let the girl be harmed.

The Doctor let out a breath of relief and bowed his head, nodding to himself before looking at her, smiling again, "Don't _ever_ do that to me again," he said quickly, before grinning at Amy, "And Amelia Pond!" he cheered, going to hug her, pleased she was safe too.

Angel smiled sadly as she watched the two laughing. He'd hugged Amy. She'd only gotten a squeeze on the shoulder.

~8~

Rory hit the monitor, trying to get the connection back, "Nothing!" he huffed, frantic, his mind racing to the different fates that could befall Angel and her baby, and with him being the only one who knew about it... "I've got to get down there!" he started to walk away.

"Rory wait!" Angel's voice called as the picture came back to reveal her and the Doctor standing before the pillars, released, "Hello!"

"Angel!" he ran back to the monitor, holding the sides of it as he breathed a sigh of relief, "You're ok," he smiled, "And Amy..."

"She's fine," Angel moved aside so he could see Amy standing there.

"Oh, thank God."

"Keeping you on your toes!" Amy laughed as Angel turned and walked back to her, the two girls walking off, leaving the Doctor to talk to Rory as he'd requested to get everything sorted.

"No time to chat," the Doctor continued, "Listen, you need to get down here...go to the drill storeroom, there's a large patch of earth in the middle of the floor. The Silurians are going to send up transport discs to bring you back down using geothermal energy and gravity bubble-technology. It's how they travel and frankly it's pretty cool. Bring Alaya. We hand her over, we can land this after all. All going to work, promise. Got to dash! Hurry up!"

The signal ended.

"The moment we get down there, everything will fall apart," Tony sighed.

"We have to return her," Rory decided, glancing over at Alaya's prone form, Ambrose sitting on a chair beside the body, frowning down at it, "They deserve at least that."

~8~

Amy and Nasreen were sitting on one side of a table in the courtroom, Eldane on the other while Angel, the Doctor, Mo, and Malohkeh stood by.

"I'd say, you've got a fair bit to talk about," the Doctor commented, eyeing the seated people.

"How so?" Eldane looked up.

"You both want the planet. You both have a genuine claim to it."

"Are you authorized to negotiate on behalf of humanity?"

"Me?"

"Yes," Angel nodded.

"No," the Doctor chuckled, "Well, yes, but I think we should let them do it," he gestured at Nasreen and Amy.

"What?!" Nasreen blinked.

"We're _not_ authorized!" Amy agreed.

"Course you are!" he smiled, "Amy Pond and Nasreen Chaudhry, speaking for the planet!" he stood behind them, resting his hands on their shoulders a moment, "Humanity couldn't have better ambassadors. Come on, who has more fun than us?" he moved to the opposite end of the table.

Amy quickly got up and went over to him, "Is this what happens, in the future? Did Angel tell you the planet gets shared? Is that what we need to do?"

Nasreen frowned, hearing them and walked over, "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, Nasreen, sorry, probably worth mentioning at this stage, Amy, Angel, and I travel in time, a bit," the Doctor told her.

"With Rory!" Angel called, hearing them from across the table and not about to let her companion be left out.

"Yes," the Doctor nodded, pointing at her.

"Anything else?" Nasreen breathed, a tiny bit overwhelmed.

"Angel's psychic," Amy added.

"Right," Nasreen nodded, not sounding disbelieving but more...as though it made sense that someone who travelled in time would also be able to see the future.

"And there are fixed points through time, where things _must always_ stay the way they are," the Doctor continued, "This is not one of them. This is an opportunity, a temporal tipping point. Whatever happens today, will change future events, create its own timeline, its own reality. The future pivots around you. Here. Now. So do good. For humanity, and for Earth."

"Right," Amy let out a breath, "No pressure there, then," and moved back to the table.

"We _can't_ share the planet," Nasreen shook her head, "Nobody on the surface is going to go for this idea. It is just too big a leap!"

"Have faith Nasreen," Angel smiled at her, pulling her attention over, "I've seen humans do _amazing_ things, this could be one of them. Just...be your normal extraordinary selves and it'll all work out."

Nasreen shook her head with a fond smile, encouraged, and sat back down next to Amy as the Doctor smiled at Angel, he loved how she could do that, offer so much encouragement in so few words, she just...had that quality to her. Everyone who met her came away a better person for it.

"Should we start?" Angel asked, seeing him just staring at her.

"Ok," he nodded, pulling himself from his thoughts and slapping the table, "Bringing things to order, the first meeting of representatives of the Human Race and homo-reptilian is now in session. Ha! Never said that before, that's fab! Carry on!" he pointed at them, "Now, Mo, let's go and get your son," he turned to walk off, "Oh, you know, humans, and their predecessors, shooting the breeze. Never thought I'd see it," he looked back though when he felt like something was missing, to see Angel standing there, not following, "You not coming?"

She shook her head with a small smile, "I might be able to keep the peace better here. You know, offer a 3rd party view or something."

He nodded, pointing at her before clapping Mo on the back and leading him out.

~8~

Rory gently placed Alaya's body on the ground where four discs were waiting for them, "So we get on those, and they take us down through the earth?" Tony asked.

"Geothermal gravity bubbles, or something," Rory mumbled.

"They sent four," Ambrose breathed, shifting, alarmed and worried about what would happen, to Mo and Elliot, when the Silurians realized what she'd done, "She was our only bargaining chip."

"We _have_ to hand her back."

"Wait," she grabbed Rory's arm as he moved to step on one, "Before we go down, there's something I've got to do..." she glanced at Tony, "Dad, I need your help," she added before leading Tony to the side of the room.

~8~

"No!" Tony shook his head, backing away from his daughter as she told him what she wanted to do, "No way."

"Please, dad...just a precaution," Ambrose pleaded.

"I've told you, I _won't_ do it."

"Look at what they did to you!" she gestured at his chest.

"This isn't about me or you."

"No," she glared, "It's about your _grandson_. If you won't do it for me, do it for Elliot. I know I did wrong. But I _can't_ lose him, dad," she started to cry at that, Tony sighing before he moved over to her, hugging her tightly.

"Alright," he whispered "Alright..."

~8~

The Doctor, Mo, and Malohkeh stood outside Elliot's room, "Elliot, there you are," the Doctor sighed as Malohkeh used the panel outside to revive him.

"If you've harmed him in any way…" Mo warned the Silurian doctor, all too aware of the decontamination pains.

"Of course not!" Malohkeh defended, "I only _store_ the young."

"But why?" the Doctor looked at him.

"I took samples of the young, slowed their life-cycles to a millionth of their normal rate. So I could study how they grew, what they needed, how they lived on the surface."

"You've been down here, working by yourself, all alone?"

"My family, through the millennia," he nodded, "...for the last 300 years, just me," he turned to Mo, "I never meant to harm your child."

"Malohkeh, I rather love you," the Doctor fist bumped him when the panel bleeped, "It's safe. We can wake him."

Malohkeh entered the room and removed the wires before beckoning to Mo, "Come."

The Silurian stepped out as Mo entered and stood before Elliot who slowly blinked awake, "Elliot? El, it's dad."

"What...dad!" he hugged him.

"You're safe now."

"Where are we?"

"Well, I've got to be honest with you, son. We're in the center of the Earth...and there are lizard men."

Elliot looked at the doorway where the Doctor and Malohkeh were, "Wow."

The Doctor entered the room, "Elliot, I'm sorry. I took my eye off you."

"It's ok. I forgive you," he shook the Doctor's hand.

They started down the hallway when Malohkeh stopped, spotting a reading on a nearby panel, a blinking light and silent alarm, "You go on, Doctor. I'll catch up."

The Doctor nodded and led Mo and Elliot back while Malohkeh keyed something into a panel, "Storage facility 19 operational," was the automated reply. With a thoughtful look he turned and headed in the opposite direction.

~8~

Tony sat at the controls of the drill, hesitating, before pressing a button. Closing his eyes a moment to steel himself for what he was about to do, before continuing to set the controls.

~8~

Eldane and Angel sat across from Nasreen and Amy at the table, "We lived on the surface of the planet, _long_ before you did," Eldane pointed out, "Our sole purpose has been to return to our rightful place."

"And we've got a planet that can't already sustain the people who live there," Nasreen countered, "And you want to add a whole other species, to drain resources..."

~8~

" _As I sat there that day, across the table from the humans, the future of both species and of our beloved planet Earth rested in our hands, but as the discussions went on, I began to despair about whether we would ever find any common ground, as ambassadors for our species we all had too much to lose. And then the golden woman spoke..._ "

~8~

"Don't give up," Angel smiled, reaching out to put a hand on Nasreen's, "You'll work something out," she looked between them, "You're both brilliant and creative, I'm sure there must be some place, some way for both species to coincide."

Amy paused, thinking on Angel's words, "What about the areas that aren't habitable to us?" Amy stood, pointing to a projection of the Earth that was floating between them, "Australian outback, Sahara desert, Nevada plains...they're all deserted."

Nasreen tugged Amy down, "Yes, fine," Nasreen cut in as Eldane opened his mouth to speak, "But what happens when their population grows and breeds and spreads? And anyway, what benefit does humanity get, and how would we ever sell this to people on the surface?"

"I'm sure if you let Eldane speak," Angel called gently, "He could probably tell you exactly how," she looked at Eldane and smiled, "Go on."

He smiled his thanks to her and turned to Nasreen and Amy, "You give us space, we can bring new sources of energy, new methods of water supply, new medicines, scientific advances. We were a great civilization. You provide a place for us on the surface, we'll give you knowledge and technology beyond humanity's dreams. We work together as our mediator has suggested," he gestured at Angel, "This planet could achieve greatness."

"Ok," Nasreen smiled, "Now I'm starting to see it."

"Oh, yeah," Amy agreed.

"You three are _brilliant_ ," Angel told them, just beaming, "What do you think Doctor?"

They looked over her shoulder to see the Doctor standing there with Mo and Elliot before he started clapping for them, "Not bad for a first session. More similarities than differences."

There was a whooshing noise that made them look up, "The transport has returned," Eldane said, "Your friends are here."

Angel's smile slowly started to fall…a sinking feeling growing inside her.

~8~

Malohkeh walked though one of the tunnels, noticing one of the sliding glass doors over the alcoves on the walls was already opened, "That's not right," he stepped forward to see Restac reviving the soldiers, "What are you _doing_?!"

"Protecting our race against the apes!" she cried.

"You can't do this!"

"You're a good scientist, Malohkeh, but this is _war_ ," and without a moment's hesitation, she shot him down.

~8~

Angel shivered a moment, the sinking feeling growing larger, when...

"Angel!" someone shouted.

She looked up to see Rory running through the doors of the courtroom, right to her, pulling her into a tight hug as Amy actually smiled on, happy to see Rory relieved that Angel was ok, she knew how worried he had been for her.

"Rory," she whispered, before laughing when he spun her around.

"Are you _sure_ you're ok?" Rory set her down, gently placing his hands on her shoulders and trying to look her over, sending her a meaningful look and a glance at her stomach that no one saw with his back to them, "Really ok?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Wonderful," he beamed, taking her head in his hands and kissing the top of her head, pulling her into another tight hug as she returned it.

The Doctor winced and looked down at his hands when he felt a pain shoot through them, frowning in confusion as to what had hurt him just then...and spotting it. Tiny little half-moons along the middle of his palm. He lifted a hand and looked at them closely, closing one hand into a fist to see that the half-moons fit with his fingers. He blinked, he'd just clenched his hands into fists so tightly he'd marked himself. But why?

He glanced over at Angel and Rory to see them still hugging and felt it this time, felt his hands clenching into fists at the sight. It should be understandable, Rory was her companion, Angel was his Pilot, they were friends, of course Rory would be worried about her, of course he'd be ecstatic to see her alright again. But did he have to hug her this long?! Granted it had only been a second or two, but really! Hug that long and others might get the wrong idea.

He looked at Amy to see her actually _smiling_ at the sight, which confused him, she seemed...happy. So...why was he so...unhappy? No, that wasn't the right word, he wasn't unhappy. He was _angry_. He was angry that Rory was hugging Angel, that Angel had hugged Rory, and that kiss?! He'd felt his blood boil at that, and, for a brief second, before he'd seen the boy just kiss her on her head, like he did Amy at times, he thought the world had gone red. But why? Why was he so angry about Rory touching her? Yes, he'd been cross earlier, when he'd thought that there was something else, something more to the hug he'd seen in the console room. But Rory had insisted it was just platonic.

This though, Rory had kissed her too! But, HE kissed Amy's forehead all the time, when she was brilliant or he was relieved she was ok...it was obviously the same for Rory, obviously really. Rory was a nurse, he was concerned and compassionate and worried about Angel. That was wonderful, that was good to have a companion who cared for you, helped keep you out of trouble most times.

...so why did he want to run over there and shove Rory away from her?

That would be rude.

Very rude.

And make him outrageously happy to have distance between Angel and the other man.

He'd actually started to take a step forwards, his feet seeming to move of their own accord, when Angel pulled away and looked at Rory in concern, "Rory…" Angel began, eyeing him, "What's happened?"

Before he could answer though, Elliot gave a shout, "Mum!" and ran to his mother when Ambrose entered.

Rory could only shake his head, unable to say.

"What is it?" Amy looked between him and Angel.

"Something's wrong..." Angel replied.

And then...Tony entered, carrying the shrouded body of Alaya.

"Doctor, what's he carrying?" Amy tensed.

The Doctor took a step up, "No. Don't do this. Tell me you didn't do this," Tony laid her on the floor, the Doctor squatting down and pulling the cloth away from Alaya's face. He shook his head before putting the shroud back in place and glaring at Tony, "What did you do?"

"It wasn't him," Angel said, looking straight at Ambrose.

"It was me," the woman nodded, "I did it."

"Mum?" Elliot backed away from her.

"I just wanted you back!" she reached for him, but Elliot just walked away from her, everyone looking at her with pity and shame, though Angel more in disappointment.

The Doctor turned to Eldane, "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"They're better than this," Angel whispered, drawing the Doctor's look to her heartsbroken expression, his hearts pinging to see her disappointed, "They really are."

"This is _our_ planet!" Ambrose yelled.

"We had a chance here," the Doctor rounded on her, feeling a flash of anger at the woman flare up for upsetting Angel the way she had.

"Leave us alone."

The Doctor strode over to her, "In future, when you talk about this, you tell people there was a chance but _you_ were so much _less_ than the best of humanity."

Armed soldiers entered the room with Restac at the center, "My sister," she breathed at the sight before her, running to Alaya's side and kneeling, uncovering the body before replacing it a moment later, devastated, "And you want us to trust these apes, Doctor?"

The Doctor pointed a warning finger at her, " _One_ woman. She was scared for her family. She's not typical."

"I think she is," Restac glared at Ambrose.

Angel closed her eyes, feeling guilty. If she had been sharper in her visions, she could have given Rory better warning. If she had been able to avoid the hole, she would have still been there to stop Ambrose...she could empathize with the woman, wanting to protect her child, but...she could have _stopped_ her, helped them keep calm...this was all her fault.

" _One_ person let us down," the Doctor looked at Eldane, "But there's a whole race of dazzling, peaceful human beings up there. You were building something, here, come on...an alliance could work."

"It's too late for that, Doctor," Ambrose said grimly. They looked at her questioningly as Tony ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"What do you mean?" Angel tensed, the pit growing even larger in her stomach.

"Our drill is set to start burrowing again in..." she glanced at a stopwatch in her hands, "15 minutes."

"What?!" Nasreen gaped, looking at Tony, knowing _he_ was the only one who knew how to work the drill, Ambrose certainly didn't.

"What choice did I have?" Tony defended, "They had Elliot."

"Don't do this, don't call their bluff," the Doctor shook his head.

"Let us go back," Ambrose threatened, "And you promise to never come to the surface ever again. We'll walk away, leave you alone."

"Execute her!" Restac spat.

"No!" Angel ran forward and grabbed Ambrose as the soldiers fired, their ammunition striking a golden wall that crackled with energy as it was hit.

"Everybody, back to the lab!" the Doctor yelled, "Run!" they ran for the exit, Angel getting Ambrose there before letting her run with her family.

"Execute all the apes!" Restac ordered.

The Doctor pulled his sonic out and aimed it at the guns the Silurians were holding, using it to make them explode, "This is a deadly weapon, stay back!"

One of the soldiers approached from the seats, whipping its tongue out at the Doctor, only for the golden wall to spring up before him, blocking it. He looked over to see Angel there, hiding by the entrance to the tunnel, her hand out, concentrating, and ran past her, grabbing her hand and pulling her with him down the tunnel after the humans.

"Take everyone to the lab!" the Doctor told Rory as a beam from the gun struck the wall, "We'll cover you! Go! Go!" he turned to face the other soldiers with Angel as Restac and her warriors arrived, he held out his sonic, disabling a few of their guns, "Ah ah! Stop right there! Or I'll use my very deadly weapon again. One warning, that's all you get. If there can be no deal, you go back into hibernation. All of you. Now. This ends here."

"No," Restac glared, "It only ends with our victory."

"Like I said...one warning," he disabled the last two guns and they ran off.

With a growl and promise of vengeance, Restac chased after them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww Rory! I seriously LOVE him so much in this story...the next chapter broke my heart to write though :( I hope you liked the little jealous Doctor moment there, he's just so adorable in how he doesn't even realize why he feels that way :) I sort of see him as being like 9 where he doesn't understand what he feels are the beginnings of love, because he's technically already in love with Angel but his conscious mind is firmly stuck on the fact that he 'doesn't' feel that way for her :) We'll have to see how that plays out :)


	29. Cold Blood: Erased

The Doctor ran into the lab to see the other humans and Eldane gathered there. He spun around as soon as Angel was in and used the sonic to shut the doors and lock them, keeping the other warriors out should they catch up, "Elliot, you and your dad keep your eyes on that screen," the Doctor ordered, directing them to a monitor, "Let me know if we get company. Amy," he handed her the stopwatch, "Keep reminding me how much time I haven't got."

Mo and Elliot moved to watch the screen, as commanded, Mo putting his arm around his son as Elliot began to shift nervously at the sheer amount of soldiers after them.

"Ok, 12 minutes till drill impact," Amy glanced at the stopwatch.

Tony fell down heavily onto a chair, Nasreen beside him, "Tony are you alright?" Angel asked, moving over to his side and putting a hand on his shoulder, worried.

"Tony Mack," the Doctor called, walking over to him, "Sweaty forehead, dilated pupils, what're you hiding?"

Tony winced as he tugged his shirt open to show them the infection had spread completely across his chest.

"Tony!" Nasreen stared in horror at the green veins and, what seemed like, slime covering his chest, "What happened?!"

The Doctor frowned and scanned the area with the sonic, looking at the readings with an even deeper frown, making Angel look at Tony in worry, seeing the results in his mind and what that meant for the man and his family.

"Alaya's sting," Tony rasped, "She said there's no cure," he looked at the Doctor, panting, "I'm dying, aren't I?"

"You're not dying, you're mutating," the Doctor said, "How can I stop it?" he spun around, trying to find something useful.

"Doctor..." Angel began, holding her hand up a bit to try and say something.

But the Doctor spotted one of the examination boards in the back, "Decontamination program!" he cheered, grinning, "Might work, don't know. Eldane, can you run the program on Tony?"

"Doctor, shed load of those creatures coming our way!" Mo warned as Eldane nodded, "We're surrounded in here!"

Eldane moved to help Tony up, but Angel just put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head, "Let me," she whispered.

Eldane nodded and stepped back, turning to watch the Doctor mutter to himself, not noticing that Angel hadn't continued to help Tony up, just moved in front of the man to speak quietly to him, "So, question is, how we do stop the drill, given we can't get there in time? Plus also, how do we get out, given that we're surrounded?" his eyes widened and he spun around, snapping his fingers as he pointed at Nasreen, "Nasreen, how d'you feel about an energy pulse, channeled up through the tunnels to the base of the drill?"

"To blow up my life's work?" she frowned.

"Yes. Sorry. No nice way of putting that."

"Right, well," she cleared her throat, clearly not liking the plan, "You're going to have to do it before the drill hits the city, in..."

"11 minutes, 40 seconds..." Amy answered.

"Yes!" the Doctor cheered, "Squeaky bum time!

"Yes, but the explosion is going to cave in all the surrounding tunnels so we have to be on the surface by then," Nasreen reminded him.

"But we can't get past Restac's troops," Rory argued.

"I can help with that..." Eldane moved to the controls, no one really paying any attention when Tony nodded to something Angel had said and she placed her hands on his shoulders, "Toxic Fumigation, an emergency failsafe meant to protect my species from infection. A warning signal to occupy cryo-chambers. After that, citywide fumigation, by toxic gas. Then the city shuts down."

"You could end up killing your own people," Amy breathed.

"Only those foolish enough to follow Restac."

"Eldane, are you _sure_ about this?" the Doctor asked him.

"My priority is my race's survival. The Earth isn't ready for us to return yet."

"No."

"10 minutes, Doctor," Amy reported, not seeing Rory frown, his gaze landing on Angel as the Time Lady tensed.

"But maybe it should be. So here's the deal. Everybody listening? Eldane, you activate shutdown...I'll amend the system, set your alarm for 1,000 years' time," Eldane went to do so, "1,000 years, to sort the planet out. To be ready. Pass it on. As legend, or prophesy, or religion, but somehow, make it known. Like Angel said, this planet is to be shared."

"Yeah," Elliot smiled, "I get you," he liked that girl, from what he'd heard of her and seen of her, she was very kind and protective, she'd helped the humans and Eldane negotiate and had protected his mother despite what she'd done, had forgiven the woman. He looked over and took his mother's hand, if an alien could forgive her, he could too.

"Nine minutes, seven seconds," Amy called.

The Doctor joined Eldane at the controls, "Yes, fluid controls, my favorite! Energy pulse timed, primed and set. Before we go, energy barricade, need to cancel it out, quickly," he flashed the sonic on the controls and the barricade came down.

"Fumigation pre-launching," Eldane reported.

"There's not much time for us to get from here to the surface, Doctor!" Rory glancing at the stopwatch.

"Ah ha, super-squeaky bum time!" the Doctor grinned, "Get ready to run for your lives. Now..."

"But the decontamination program on your friend hasn't started yet," Eldane called.

They all looked over at Tony, unable to see him as Angel stood before him, her hands on his shoulders, a soft golden swirl around her.

"What's she doing to him!?" Ambrose gasped, about to go forward and stop the woman when the Doctor held her back.

A moment later the swirl faded and Angel stepped to the side, Tony's chest healed and healthy again, Ambrose running to her father's side to see for herself. The Doctor walked over to Angel as she leaned against a pillar to catch her breath, Rory rushing over to check on her. She gave them a weary smile, she'd used a lot of energy today.

"I'm fine," Angel whispered.

Rory just shook his head at her, glancing back at Tony who seemed much healthier, and to her as she brushed a piece of hair behind her ears...and his eyes widened, "Angel what happened?!" he reached out and took her hand, gently, examining the circle of bluish-greenish-brown around her wrist, seeing the same bruising on her other hand.

"I was clamped to an examination board," she murmured, pulling her hand back to rub it with her other hand.

The Doctor frowned and took her hand as well, looking at it, trying not to touch them too firmly and cause her pain, "Why didn't you say anything?" given all the running and moving, her hands had to hurt by now.

"Other things were more important," she remarked quietly.

The Doctor blinked and looked at her, a frown on his face...a...niggling of...something...at the corner of his mind, before he blinked again and shook his head, looking at her wrist before letting go of it slowly, "We'll get you checked up in the med-bay after this is over," he pointed a warning finger at her.

Angel nodded sadly as he turned around to continue his work. There was a time he would have used his regeneration energy to heal that, to heal those little bruises. He'd healed cuts and scrapes and other bruises of hers in the past with it, but...it seemed this him...didn't think it was worth wasting the energy. She rubbed her wrist once more, it made sense though, in a way. It was why she hadn't tried to heal herself with the Vortex, she had wanted to save her energy incase someone else needed her help. Like Tony, that had taken more out of her than she thought it would.

"Don't worry," Rory whispered, putting an arm around her shoulders, "I'll get you all fixed up in no time," he nudged her, "I'm a nurse."

She smiled at him, "Thanks Rory," she nudged him back, "What would I do without you?"

She stiffened suddenly at that, a bolt of fear flying through her at the words...she shook her head, no, no, that _wasn't_ going to happen. Nothing was going to happen to Rory, nothing at all, she'd make sure of it, she _swore_ it. Rory was going to be just _fine_. He would be. He _had_ to be.

"Oh dad you're ok," Ambrose breathed, in shock at seeing his chest normal once more, hugging him, "You're healed!"

"Granddad!" Elliot ran forward and hugged him too.

"Eight minutes, 10 seconds," Amy reported.

"I'm so sorry dad," Ambrose's eyes filled with tears, she couldn't help but blame all this on herself. If Angel hadn't been able to help him…he'd likely have been trapped down there.

"I don't blame you Ambrose," he whispered, reaching out to hug her as well, before giving Elliot a little squeeze, "I love you, boy."

"This was my fault…"

"Um guys…" the Doctor cut in, having finished setting the controls only moments ago, "Maybe we could do this on the surface?"

Tony nodded and stood as Eldane activated the fumigation, "Toxic fumigation initiated."

~8~

"Return to cryo-chambers," the order came over the speakers.

Restac glared as the soldiers headed back to their chambers, ignoring her commands to remain where they were, "No!"

"Toxic fumigation initiated."

"No!"

"Return to cryo-chambers."

"This is _not_ the order!" she shouted at the soldiers, but they just stepped into their chambers, the glass sliding down before them, leaving her alone.

~8~

"Toxic fumigation initiated…"

"They're going!" Amy smiled, seeing the soldiers retreating on the screen, "We're clear!"

"Ok," the Doctor clapped, "Everyone follow Nasreen. Look for a blue box. Get ready to run," he used the sonic on the door and it slid open, he turned to Eldane, "I'm sorry."

"I thought for a moment, our race, and the humans..." Eldane began.

"Yeah. Me too."

"There's _always_ hope for the future," Angel reminded them both, making Elliot smile and nod, the future _did_ seem infinitely brighter, one day there would be Lizard men on the surface!

"Doctor!" Amy yelled, "Angel! We've got less than six minutes."

"Go!" the Doctor urged, "Go! I'm right behind you!"

The group ran out of the room, Nasreen leading the way as Rory and Mo helped Tony go, the man still a bit worn from enduring the poison, the Doctor and Angel behind them. They ran out onto a bridge as the alarms blared, the last of the soldiers entering their cryo-chambers.

~8~

" _So, the Doctor sent our warriors back to their rest, an Angel's promise of future harmony with humans hanging in their dreams_."

~8~

The fumes began to pump through the tunnels and the larger chambers behind them, the humans managing to keep ahead of it, "Immediate evacuation...toxic fumigation is about to commence."

Mo, Elliot, and Ambrose paused at the sight of a large cavern with flora all around and magma beneath them, but the group just pushed them on.

"Come on!" the Doctor yelled as they ran across the bridge and to the tunnel where the TARDIS was sitting, "No questions, just get in! And yes, I know it's big!"

Angel quickly pushed the door open, not willing to risk the Doctor fumbling for the keys, feeling like she NEEDED to get them all into the box as soon as she could, something was coming, something bad, "Ambrose, Elliot," she smiled at them, "The med-bay is up those stairs," she pointed, "Just ask the TARDIS for it and she'll bring the room right up."

"Come on!" the Doctor half-shoved them in as Angel turned to look at him, her eyes widening in alarm, "Five minutes and counting..."

"Doctor," Angel gasped, her gaze locked on something over his shoulder.

He spun around to see her staring at an _enormous_ crack in the tunnel wall, the _same_ crack from Amy's bedroom, "Not here," he mumbled, shocked, "Not now."

"It's getting wider," Angel grimaced, trying to look away as the queasy feeling started to rise in her, truly feeling like she was about to be sick all over the floor at the way her stomach was churning at it, only now she was afraid for the baby too. If this was how ill SHE felt around them...what could that mean for the baby?

Rory looked over at her, seeming to sense her unease, and put an arm around her to steady her, seeing her go three shades paler and start to look a bit green, she was even shaking under his arm.

"The crack on my bedroom wall," Amy shook her head.

"And the _Byzantium_ ," the Doctor agreed, walking forward and kneeling down before it.

"They're _everywhere_ ," Angel breathed, "Just...everywhere, the Starship UK, the War Rooms, scattered through the Universe," she swallowed, Rory hugging her closer, hearing a tremor in her voice,, "Rips in the continuum."

"Some sort of space-time cataclysm," the Doctor nodded, "An explosion, maybe. Big enough to put cracks in the Universe. But what?" he studied the crack.

Amy glanced at the stopwatch, "Four minutes 50...we have to go!"

"The angels laughed when I didn't know. Prisoner Zero knew, _everybody_ knows, except me!"

Angel winced, she didn't _want_ to know, she really, _really_ didn't.

"Doctor, just leave it."

"Please," Angel begged, agreeing with Amy.

"But where there's an explosion," he pulled out a red hanky from inside his pocket, "There's shrapnel!" he leaned over the crack.

"Doctor, you can't put your hand in there!" Rory warned, taking a step away from Angel, about to stop him.

"Does logic ever stop him?" Angel remarked, keeping back against the TARDIS, unable to bear getting any closer to the crack, she was starting to feel dizzy now, lightheaded.

The Doctor just grinned at them before reaching into the crack with the hanky, crying out in pain as the light got brighter. Angel grabbed Rory's hand as he stepped back at the flare, all of them watching nervously, not knowing what to do, "I've got something!" he shouted.

"What is it?" Amy breathed.

He fell to the ground, clutching the item wrapped in the hanky, an item sizzling with heat and energy, "I don't know."

"Doctor!" Angel gasped as a dying Restac crawled into the tunnel.

The Doctor jumped up off the ground to face her.

"She was there, when the gas started..." Amy frowned, "She must've been poisoned."

"You!" Restac glared.

"Ok, get in the TARDIS," the Doctor turned to them, "The lot of you!" and reached into a jacket pocket to put the shrapnel away.

"You did this!" Restac snarled, lifting her gun.

Rory's eyes widened, seeing the Doctor distracted, seeing Restac's gun power up, and his mind flashing to only one thing...the Doctor was the father of Angel's child, "Doctor!"

And before anyone could even blink, before Angel could even move to stop him, Rory ran forward and pushed the Doctor out of the way, getting shot instead.

"No!" Angel gasped, rushing to him, ignoring the crack, ignoring her churning stomach, needing to help her companion.

"Rory!" Amy screamed, falling to her knees beside him as he groaned in pain on the ground just as Restac died.

"Rory, can you hear me?" Angel asked as she fell on the other side of him, across from Amy, grabbing the boy's hand, the Doctor using the sonic on him, "Rory why did you do that?!"

He winced in pain as he rolled his head to look at her, "I _had_ to," he glanced at the Doctor then at her and she realized. Even though the Doctor didn't know about the baby it didn't change the fact that it was his, that he was going to be a dad, he'd done it for her, "I'm sorry," he breathed, groaning again, the pain getting worse, he shook his head, looking at Amy, "I don't understand…"

"Shh, shh," Amy whispered, "Don't talk," she stroked his face, "Doctor, is he ok? Angel?" she looked at the girl, "Is he going to be ok? We have to get him into the TARDIS!"

"We were on the hill…"

"Angel can't you heal him! Like with Tony?!"

"I…Amy it's too late," Angel shook her head, tears in her eyes as she looked at the light falling out of the crack like tendrils, reaching for Rory, already upon him. Even if the tendrils hadn't reached him, she wasn't sure, she _honestly_ wasn't. With all the energy she'd spent, she didn't think she'd manage to heal a wound as fatal as Rory's, "I'm so sorry Rory," the tears started to fall, "Please forgive me, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

"Not your fault," he whispered to her, weakly squeezing her hand, neither of them noticing the Doctor stiffen, feeling like the words were familiar, "I can't die here."

"Don't say that," Amy looked at him, in tears.

He looked up, forcing his eyes open to see Amy crying, but what's more, he saw Angel crying for him as well. He felt warm, very warm, to know Angel cared so much about him. He knew Amy did, Amy was marrying him, or would marry him, but...to know that Angel cared about him too, that was wonderful. But...he could see it in her eyes, she was blaming herself, and he didn't want that, "It'll be alright," he whispered, his hand lolling to the side as he tried to comfort her too.

He knew that he had been even more worried about her during this adventure than any other, so much so that, during a few brief times, Amy had taken a backseat so to speak. But...he'd _just_ learned Angel was pregnant, it hadn't really had time to sink in properly with everything going on. That was _all_ he could think of when he looked at her, when he thought about her, her pregnancy and how terrified she was. She'd been pulled into the earth while Amy had been safe with them, she'd been wandering the halls alone with Mo while Amy had had the Doctor and Nasreen, and she'd even freed herself to save Amy from the Silurian firing squad. She was always putting herself in danger, to protect Amy, to protect him, to protect the Doctor. And he'd promised to protect her and the baby...he supposed he wasn't all that much of a companion or even a nurse after all.

She squeezed his hand harder, seeming to sense where his mind was going, "It will be, I promise Rory."

He nodded, giving her a small smile before looking at Amy with all the love he could muster, wanting her to know how much he loved her, no matter what, she would be the most important woman in his life in the end, he wanted her to be the last thing he saw, "You're so beautiful..." he whispered to her, "I'm sorry..."

And then his head lulled to the side, Angel letting out a small sob at that, her expression falling.

"Doctor, help him!" Amy demanded.

But the Doctor had noticed what Angel had, the tendrils had already reached Rory's feet, were already swarming around him, it really _was_ too late. He stood up, "Amy, move away from the light, if it touches you you'll be wiped from history. Amy, move away now."

"No! I am _not_ leaving him! We have to help him!"

The Doctor gripped Amy gently by the shoulders, "The light's already around him, we can't help him."

"I am _not_ leaving him!"

"Amy we _have_ to," Angel gasped through her tears, knowing that Rory would want Amy safe, he'd want her to live, to get out of there, he wouldn't _ever_ want to be responsible for her death, and that's what the Time Energy would do, kill her and erase her, and Rory would want Amy safe. She stood and grabbed Amy's arm, she could do this for Rory.

"No!" Amy twisted in their grips.

"Sorry!" the Doctor tugged her.

"Get off me!"

"Sorry!" he hauled her to her feet, Angel helping drag her back to the TARDIS.

"Get off me!" she struggled as Angel pushed the doors open for the Doctor to push her inside, "No!" she rushed back to the doors, trying to get out, "No! No!" but the Doctor soniced the lock, stopping her, she pounded on the door, "Let me out, please let me out...I need to get Rory!"

The Doctor walked determinedly to the console, Angel bracing herself against the wall, her hand on her stomach as she tried to gasp for breath, as devastated as Amy was.

Amy though, turned to follow the Doctor as tears streamed down her cheeks, only to see Rory on the monitor, "That light, if his body's absorbed I'll forget him. He'll never have existed. You _can't_ let that happen," but the Doctor pulled a lever on the console, "What are you doing?! Doctor! No!"

Angel quickly gathered herself and rushed over, pulling Amy back and just holding her as the ginger woman tried to hit whatever switches she could to try and stop him, and the TARDIS disappeared just as Rory's body was wrapped in the light.

Amy started to twist and turn in Angel's arms, trying to get out before she just sank to the ground in tears, taking Angel with her, the Time Lady hugging her tightly, tears in her own eyes, she could relate to not wanting to forget or be forgotten.

"No!" Amy weapt, "No! Doctor, we can't just leave him there! Angel _please_..."

"Keep him in your mind," Angel whispered, her one last hope to try and save some semblance of Rory, " _Don't_ forget him Amy, don't let yourself forget him, if you do, then he'll be lost forever."

"On the _Byzantium_ ," Amy looked at her, desperate, "I still remembered the Weeping Angels because I am a time traveler, now you said," she looked at the Doctor with hope.

The Doctor shook his head, reaching forward to take her hand as he knelt before the girls on the floor, "They weren't part of your world. This is different...this is your own history changing."

"Don't tell me it's going to be ok! You have to make it ok!"

"It'll be hard, but it's _not_ impossible," Angel told her, firmly believing that, needing to believe that, "You _can_ do it, Amy."

"Tell us about Rory," the Doctor nodded, "Fantastic Rory, funny Rory, gorgeous Rory. Amy, listen to me. Do exactly as I say."

"Amy, _please_ ," Angel nearly begged, "Concentrate on Rory. You can do it. You can keep him alive."

"I can't," she shook her head.

"You _can_. You _can_ do it. We can't help you unless you do. Come on. Please, we can still save his memory. Come on, Amy. _Please_ …"

The Doctor glanced over at Angel, slightly shocked by her vehemence for Amy to remember Rory as Amy looked into the distance, remembering all her amazing times with Rory, all the adventures.

"Come on Amy, come on," Angel pleaded, squeezing her hand to keep her focused, "Amy, please. Don't let _anything_ distract you. Remember Rory. Keep remembering Rory, he's only alive in your memory. You _must_ keep hold of him. Don't let anything distract you. Rory still lives in your mind. Don't let him go."

But without the Pilots watching the TARDIS...she jolted upon landing, knocking them all completely over to the floor. The box containing Amy's engagement ring fell out in front of the Doctor as he stared at it.

"What were you saying?" Amy asked brightly, pushing herself up off the floor and looking at them as though there were nothing wrong.

The Doctor could only stare at her, sad, while Angel looked near tears, when Mo and Elliot came down the stairs with the others.

"I have seen some things today, but this is _beyond_ mad," Mo remarked.

Amy checked the stopwatch, "Doctor! Five seconds till it all goes up!"

They ran outside to find themselves in the graveyard overlooking the drill site, Angel remaining on the floor of the TARDIS, alone, not wanting to watch as it exploded.

~8~

Elliot, Amy, and Mo were walking through the graveyard while Nasreen and Tony stood back at the edge of the churchyard, looking at the remains of the drill solemnly, Tony's arm around her as she stared in dismay at what was left of her life's work. The Doctor was standing in the doorway of the church by Ambrose, staring out into the distance where Angel was leaning against the TARDIS, a horrible sadness in her eyes. He could only imagine what she was feeling, having her companion die _and_ be erased from time. He'd lost his companions before, some to other worlds and things, but at least he knew Rose was alive and living her life, Rory's life had just...ended, and not only that, never happened.

An entire life that never got lived.

"Angel could've let those things shoot me," Ambrose remarked, looking at the girl as well as she just stood there, not quite sure what she was upset about, but assuming it was just the adventure getting to her, "She saved me."

"An eye for an eye," the Doctor murmured, "It's _never_ the way. Now you show your son how wrong you were. How there's another way. You make _him_ the best of humanity...in the way you couldn't be," he looked at her with a gentle smile before walking over to Angel.

"Mum?" Elliot called, moving to his mother's side, taking her hand as he too looked out at Angel, the girl hadn't joined the rest of them and he felt...sad about that, "Do you think everything'll be ok, for the Silurians?"

Ambrose smiled at that and brushed a hand through his hair, her son was already a better human than she was just in being concerned for the species, "I think so."

"Do you think the Doctor and Angel will go visit them in 1,000 years?" he wondered, they'd explained the box could fly through time and space once they'd realized they were back on the surface of the Earth once more.

"They might," Ambrose shrugged.

"I hope they do," Elliot nodded, "I think they'll need Angel to help with things then like she did now."

Angel was...kind. Really kind. She'd protected his mother even after she'd threatened the Silurians, she'd forgiven her, and even then had believed the humans were capable of magnificent feats. Even as a child, he could recognize she'd done incredible things for his family. She'd protected his mother, helped his father escape, healed his grandfather...he couldn't imagine what his family would be like if she hadn't been there to help them, to save them. He hoped, one day, he might make her proud.

~8~

"You alright?" the Doctor asked Angel quietly as he stepped beside her at the TARDIS, turning to lean on it as well, watching the humans.

"She forgot him," Angel whispered, tears still in her eyes as her arms crossed, "Just like that...she just...forgot him," she shook her head, glancing at him, "How could anyone forget someone _that_ important to them?" if he could answer _that_ , maybe she could work out why he'd forgotten her as well.

The Doctor could only shrug and they fell into silence, which was how Amy found them a few minutes later, "You're very quiet!" Amy smiled as she walked over to them before spotting herself in the future across the way, "Oh! Hey! Look!" she waved back at herself, "There I am again! Hello, me!"

Angel looked over to see it was just Amy there and closed her eyes, Rory should be there too.

Amy frowned a moment, the Doctor spotting it, "Are you ok?"

"I thought I saw someone else there for a second," Amy shook her head, "I need a holiday. Didn't we talk about Rio?"

Angel blinked and looked at Amy sharply. There was a vague look in the girl's eye like she truly _believed_ someone else had been there. And then, a small spark of hope ignited in her hearts, if it was possible for Amy to even _faintly_ be affected by the ghost of a memory of someone who had now never been born…maybe there was a chance that the Doctor would remember her someday while she was still there before him. She would have to watch Amy carefully, see just how much she might be able to recall, maybe there was a chance of getting Rory back too!

"You go in," the Doctor gestured at the door, "Just need Angel's help fixing this lock, keeps jamming," he unlocked the door for her.

"You boys and your locksmithery," Amy laughed, stepping into the box and shutting the doors behind her.

"What was it?" Angel asked, knowing he'd ushered her off so she wouldn't see what he was going to do next, that he wanted to look at the shrapnel.

~8~

" _Now, as my people awaken from their 1,000 year sleep, ready to rise to the surface, my thoughts turn back to the Doctor and Angel, the losses they suffered then and the greater loses that were still to come_."

~8~

The Doctor unwrapped the item from the hanky and his eyes widened, seeing something white with words on it.

Angel gently reached out and took it, turning to hold it up to the TARDIS instruction panel…

It was a match.

~8~

Later that night, Angel was lying on her bed, curled up in a ball, just staring at the back wall of her room, her eyes red and filled with tears that still fell though she wasn't openly crying any longer. Rory was gone. Rory, her companion, was gone.

Was there something wrong with her?

Why did she always lose her companions so soon after getting them?

The Doctor, even with his terrible luck, managed to keep them for months, _years_ even, and she had lost Rory within only a few adventures, just like with Mickey, but Mickey was still alive.

Was this the Universe's way of just...torturing her? Punishing her for a crime she wasn't aware of? For being what she was? For being psychic? For messing with time? Saving all those other people that likely should have died? To have her lose everyone who was important to her?

First her mother and her family.

Then Doctor.

Now Rory.

Would...would the baby be next?

She closed her eyes tightly, biting back a sob, and rested a hand on her only just-swelling stomach, bowing her head as she panted, trying not to cry any more, trying not to upset herself or make herself sick or stress herself. It couldn't be good for the baby. And that killed her too. Rory had said he'd be there, had _promised_ he'd make sure everything was ok and would be ok for her and the baby. He was really the only one she trusted with the secret, trusted to think calmly and rationally about it and to help her, to be there for her. She refused to disrupt the lives of her family, couldn't bear the thought of telling them what happened and have them hurt the Doctor when she wasn't even sure if was his fault, and she truly believed she wouldn't be able to survive telling the Doctor and have ask questions, as though he didn't know, somewhere in his mind, all that had happened.

But she was scared, what would she do now? Who could she turn to? Who would help her, help the baby? She couldn't lose it now, not now, not after losing Rory, after losing the Doctor...she had never thought much of motherhood, of having children, but now...this baby was the _only thing_ she had left of the Doctor, of _her_ Doctor, the one who Mated with her, the one who loved her.

She took a breath, "You are my sunshine," she sang softly, an old Earth song her mother used to sing to her when she had nightmares, her voice, unlike her mother's soft and calming tone, was a broken whisper, tears choking her as she shook, rubbing her stomach, "My... _only_ sunshine," she inhaled, it was true, it was _so_ true, the baby...the baby was all she had left, "You make me happy...when skies are...grey," she cut off, trying to catch her breath as she shuddered, "You'll never know dear," and closed her eyes tightly, " _How much_ I _love you_ ," before opening them and looking at the ceiling, at the sky, the heavens, "Please don't take my sunshine away," she stared up, the tears in her eyes falling, "Please," she begged, "Please _don't_ take my sunshine away."

That was what the baby was. The Doctor always said she was his guardian angel, his guiding light in the dark, his sun in the night...the baby was hers. The baby was her _one ray of light_ in the bitter darkness that had seemed to become her life after the Doctor regenerated.

She sniffled, looking up again, praying to a deity she wasn't even sure she believed in anymore, and said the words that broke her hearts.

"I'll accept it," she began, "I'll accept the Doctor's forgotten me, I'll...I'll be ok, if he never remembers, but...just don't take the baby," she begged, "Please, I've already lost him, I _can't_ lose the baby. Just...give me the baby and..." she swallowed, "And I'll give him up."

Never did she _ever_ think she'd willingly give up the Doctor...but this...this was beyond the two of them. This baby, was her last link to him, to HER Doctor, to the man who loved her and who she loved even still, even as he dawned a new face and wore a ridiculous bowtie. She could NOT lose the baby, no matter what, no matter the cost, she just...couldn't. She'd lost too much already, her Mate, her companion, she couldn't lose the baby too.

Because it would break her entirely if she did.

"Please don't take my sunshine away," she pleaded, closing her eyes as she started to sob, "Please."

She could only pray that the Universe made such bargains.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...I have no words :'(
> 
> No, actually I do...WHAT?! Angel's giving up the Doctor?! What? What! What?! O.O Poor her though :( I could see her needing the baby to make it now more than ever. I can say that this moment...it will come back and bite Angel in the worst way :'( But also...omg...what does this mean for the next time we see River?! :O I guess we'll have to wait and see }:)
> 
> One tiny bad thing about this last scene...it isn't even the most tragic/angsty/heartbreaking chapter to come }:D But there'll be more happy/strong Angel times to make up for that. And, this ending scene is probably the closest I will ever get to a song-fic-ish thing, I felt like Angel could relate to that tiny song :)
> 
> And next we have...Torchwood! AHHH! :) Jack! I think that's just what Angel needs, her older brother :)


	30. Miracle Day: The Miracle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To start, I want to warn that this crossover will be a bit different than the actual Miracle Day series. Torchwood is not destroyed and still exists, Owen/Tosh/Ianto/Gray are all around, and Angel will be present. As a result, the Torchwood blip was never broadcast everywhere, Esther never called Rex/distracted him and so neither of them, nor Vera, got involved with Torchwood. Vera will be mentioned once or twice as a medical director, but beyond that, we won't be seeing them. As a result, all the scenes of them will either not exist (because they never got involved) or will be altered to adapt to Torchwood taking over. And, just to warn...the next three chapters are...going to be Doctor-lite! -gasp!- More about why in my last A/N :)
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Warning: This episode of Torchwood contains references to a pedophile, mentions of past rape, and past murder. This comes about mostly when Oswald Danes is mentioned and when scenes involving him occur.

Angel walked silently through the TARDIS halls, her arms crossed before her, quiet in her thoughts. Rory had been gone not even a day and, passing Amy's room (the TARDIS had seemed insistent that the couple had two rooms till they were married), she could hear it, Amy was inside singing and dancing around her room, perfectly happy.

Which killed her.

She hadn't been able to stand it and had just…wandered…not really knowing where she was heading, but just…needing something to distract her from her thoughts, from her fears and concerns and hurt. But she missed Rory so much.

She sighed, the door to the kitchen sliding open, the TARDIS seeming to sense she might need some comfort food. Mint Oreo hot pepper sandwiches were, oddly enough, what she wanted to eat at the moment. And Gwen had thought that her own cravings of brownies and oranges was odd.

She stopped short though when she saw who else was inside the kitchen. The Doctor was sitting in a chair at the small table, a small mug set up before him with steam coming out of it, slightly hunched over, seeming as weary about everything as she was.

"Ah Angel," he offered her a smile though, seeming to come a bit more to life at her presence, "Um…how are you?"

She sighed, and could only shake her head sadly.

He nodded, understanding completely that it was a hard thing she'd just experienced. He still remembered how it felt to lose Rose to Pete's World. It was one thing when your companion dropped hints of wanting to leave or you had a talk about it and got to say goodbye, when you were expecting it. It was quite another when the companion disappeared so suddenly.

"Trouble sleeping?" he guessed.

She nodded, "Yeah," and glanced over at the refrigerator, opening it to get the tiny peppers out. She leaned in, opening a bottom drawer and pulling out a handful of hot peppers, straightening up, about to close the door when she noticed something, "We need more milk," she remarked, closing the door and setting the peppers on the counter beside her, moving to the cupboard to dig around for the mint creamed cookies as well.

"Yes," the Doctor winced behind her, "Sorry, I um, I haven't been able to sleep very much either," he explained.

"Oh?" she murmured, pulling the same amount of mint Oreos out of the container.

He nodded, though she couldn't see, "Ever since I regenerated really," he began in thought, "I just…can't seem to get comfortable, can't fall asleep."

"Sorry," she offered, moving a pepper between two Oreos to make a small sanwich.

"That's why I'm here," he laughed, knocking on the table, "Used the last of the milk to make some hot chocolate with golden sprinkles in it."

Angel froze at that, the mint-cookie-pepper sandwich halfway to her mouth, her eyes wide at what he'd just said.

"What?" she breathed, feeling herself starting to shake.

"Seems to be the only thing that helps me sleep," he laughed, taking a sip and sighing in happiness, "Has to be dark hot chocolate though and _golden_ sprinkles, none of that yellow or colored nonsense."

Angel closed her eyes and put down the little sandwich, bracing her hands on the counter, she couldn't do this. Not right now, not now, not after losing Rory.

No.

This was too much, he had to say that didn't he? He'd always commented on her eyes in her last body, how they were like hot chocolate with golden sprinkles, he'd loved her eyes. And now all they were good for was a drink that would help him sleep?

She couldn't handle this right now, so she said the only thing she could think of that might help.

"Can I go see Jack?" she asked him.

"What?" the Doctor blinked a few times at how random the question was.

She took a breath and opened her eyes, turning around to face him, her arms crossed, "I just lost Rory Doctor…he…he was like a brother to me, like in Venice, I just…I need to be with my other brother right now."

The Doctor frowned, feeling rather hurt that Angel preferred to be with Jack, seek comfort from the human, rather than him. But…he couldn't say no to her. There was a pain in her eyes now, she looked near ready to cry and he knew that losing Rory had hit her terribly hard. He could understand what it was like to lose family and just want to be with the family you had left for comfort.

"Of course," he nodded, drinking the last of the hot chocolate before standing, dropping the cup into the sink to wash later and nodding towards the door for her to follow, the little mint-cookie-pepper sandwiches forgotten.

~8~

"I'm telling you Jack!" Owen followed Jack through the hub of Torchwood, papers in his hand, "Something is _wrong_."

"Look Owen," Jack sighed, trying not to roll his eyes, "Maybe you need a break…"

Owen gave him a look, "That's _not_ what this is about."

Tosh was pregnant, about 6 months along, only just started to really show given the jackets she wore. They'd been married in a lovely ceremony in Queen Elizabeth I's court, had a wonderful honeymoon on an alien starliner, and returned to their normal lives in Torchwood…as normal as it could be that is.

Owen had been dividing his time between working with Tosh at Torchwood and returning to the hospital. He was determined that Tosh would deliver in a safe, non-Torchwood related area, and had begun to start trying to build up relations in the hospital again. He wanted to get to know the nurses who worked there, the doctors that might attend to pregnant women, the conditions, make some friendships so that, when the time came, Tosh would be well taken care of.

It had started to take its toll though, Owen was a bit more tired and stretched than before, especially given that he'd been cured of an affliction that had plagued him for a while. During one rather bad mission, he'd been killed and brought back. But the resurrection had gone wrong and he'd been in a semi-dead state. He hadn't needed sleep or food or even warmth, which had been one of the main reasons for him and Tosh never having been together. But they'd had many more missions since then and, using some more alien items they'd picked up, they'd been able to reverse it, something they both loved and hated. Loved because Owen was human again, which explained Tosh's pregnancy, but hated because Owen complained so much that he missed not needing sleep, had gotten more done. And now, all that, coupled with Tosh's pregnancy and taking care of her (not that the team wasn't all pitching in like they'd done with Gwen), they'd decided they needed help. Which was why…

"You should listen to him Jack," Gray called from where he was helping Ianto catalogue a few more pieces of alien tech.

Jack had called Gray in to help them. The team had been…tense…and a bit cross with that decision, especially Owen, but it had been Jack's final decision. And Gray had done well, surprisingly well. It didn't mean the team completely trusted him, but they trusted him enough to have their back during extreme moments. He'd proven to be an asset. Everything that had been done to him, that he'd endured, had made him more resistant to pain, he'd been able to focus better than them when injured, keep going longer, keep fighting past it. And having lived with those terrible aliens for as long as he had had given him a new perspective. He often thought of things in terms of what the enemy might desire which helped them enormously in working out why things were happening and what the enemy's next move might be.

He was still as quiet as he'd been when he'd truly been returned to Jack, though he was starting to speak up more. He didn't really argue with them or fight them on matters, more like he was just trying to fit in and not cause trouble. They were still wary of him, and likely would be for a while, but, in the same breath, of all the things he'd clearly intended to do…most had been stopped by the Doctor and Angel and the rest were fixed by the Time Lords as well.

Tosh was, surprisingly, the most accepting of Gray being there, which they were all still trying to work out how that had happened given he'd shot her and nearly killed her the first time they'd met.

Jack sighed and turned to Owen, "Fine, what's up?"

Tosh, who had been watching the small exchange from the computers, running her usual searches for alien activity, sent Ianto a look, making the man smirk. That was another good reason for having Gray there, Jack seemed to feel so guilty still about what he'd done as a child, that, if Gray asked him to do something, he did it.

"Thanks," Owen offered to Gray, who nodded and returned to his work, "Look," he stepped closer to Jack, showing him the files in his hands, the records from the local hospital, and then some, "Everyone in the hospital," he pointed out a number, "They're alive."

"Well that's good isn't it?" Tosh asked, looking over, "Means they're doing a good job."

"It's not that though," Owen shook his head though he smiled at her, "No one's died. At all."

"What do you mean?" Ianto frowned.

"It started two nights ago," Owen explained, "I was working late last night and we got a call from the morgue yeah, because they hadn't had anything new in _24 hours_ ," he shuffled his pages, the others starting to gather around him, listening now, "I mean literally, not a _single_ death. No heart attacks, no illnesses, no accidents, nothing, and it's not just that," he found what he was looking for and started to pass the papers out, "Another nurse just transferred in from Royal Hope, but she said that it was the same there. No one dead, 24 hours. I called a few mates from University too, some in America, Russia, Africa even…all the same. 24 hours and not a single death at all. And that was the other night Jack...it's been nearly 24 hours since then as well, _still_ no deaths."

The team shifted and looked over at Jack, their gazes dropping to his arm, the same one that had been injured earlier that day…that was _still_ injured…

Tosh frowned and moved back to the computers, typing away and shaking her head as a new search result popped up, "It's not just there," she called, "Its everywhere, the entire world Jack, no one's reported any deaths at all."

"What does that mean though?" Ianto looked at Jack, "What could have happened?"

"I wish I knew," Jack murmured…

When his phone range.

He looked down, smiling at the name that popped up, 'TARDIS,' and quickly answered, "Angie! Speak of an angel…" his smile faded though, making the rest of the team frown, "I'll be right there," he nodded, before dashing for the door without another word.

~8~

Jack stood in the center of the Plass, Gwen beside him with her daughter, Anwen. Gwen had been at home with Rhys but had decided to come in and see what was going on when she'd run into Jack wandering through the Plass. She was still with Torchwood, but her time was just a bit shorter with them as she wanted to be around her daughter more, understandably so. It was another reason for Gray to come onboard, he had as much experience as Gwen in fighting and was truly the man to have in a fight, his protectiveness and self-preservation instincts were phenomenal.

She'd offered to stay with Jack, let Angel meet Anwen properly, especially since the Time Lady had accurately predicted that it would be a girl. Apparently the woman had called Jack and mentioned she was coming right at that moment to visit and would meet him in the Plass. She thought Jack ought to be thrilled for that, but the man looked solemn and she knew that, whatever reason was behind the sudden visit, it was worrying him.

"So went outside all on my own," she murmured to Anwen, bouncing the baby as she fussed, "'Twas midnight, not a sound to be heard. And I looked up and a woman came out of the sky. Ah! Shining she was, like moonlight, her eyes white, blazing white. And then she started to sing like a thousand choirs. One woman with a thousand voices and it was beautiful..."

Her small story, that had managed to gather a smile on Jack's face, was cut off by a soft wheezing noise and a blue police telephone box appearing before them in the surprisingly un0crowded Plass.

"…be just fine Doctor," they could hear Angel speak from within, her voice growing louder the nearer she got to the doors, "Why don't you take Amy to…to the Trojan Gardens, or Arcadia, she'd like that, it'll be calm."

The Doctor must have said something because the next thing Angel said was, "I'll see you later," and stepped out of the doors, closing them behind her.

Gwen and Jack frowned instantly the moment they saw her, her expression, before she spotted them, was sad and…a bit hurt…weary…but then she looked up at them, a wide grin immediately broke out onto her face, "Jack!" she shouted, rushing right to him and throwing her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

Jack had to laugh at that, spinning Angel around as he hugged her in return, setting her down only to rock her side to side till she laughed.

"Hello Angel," Gwen greeted with a smile, "Say hi to your guardian angel sweetheart," she held Anwen's hand up and made her wave too.

"Gwen she's beautiful," Angel walked over, leaning down to touch Anwen's cheek, "You look _just_ like your mum," she whispered to the baby who gurgled, "I bet your daddy does."

"What?" Gwen laughed, shaking her head at her.

"She just said that Rhys says that all the time."

"How do you know that?"

"We were taught a few languages in the Academy," Angel told her, Baby, for some reason, had always been easier for her to pick up than other languages, probably because of her nephew though.

"And Baby was one of them?" Jack shook his head.

She nodded, giving him an example of just how ridiculous some of the languages could be, "Goldfish as well."

He laughed, but it was cut off by the sound of the TARDIS wheezing, the box fading away moments later. Jack frowned as he eyed it, something about all this not sitting right with him, "The Doctor's not staying?"

He couldn't remember a time, even before the Time Lords had Mated, where the Doctor was far from Angel's side of his own choice. He'd been forced away from Angel during the Year-That-Never-Was, but that was beyond his control. And the man he'd seen when they'd stopped the 456 had taken SO much convincing to let Angel go anywhere without him. It seemed...to easy. Why was he suddenly so ok with her being there and him staying in the TARDIS?

Angel shook her head, her smile fading a bit, "I wanted some alone time with my brother and his team. And besides, he's got his own companion to worry about."

"Where's yours?" Jack looked around, as though expecting some random boy to come running over, "I mean, you said companions on the phone the other day, I assumed you meant you had one too…"

"I um...I _did_ ," Angel said quietly.

The past tense wasn't lost on them.

"I'm sorry Ang," Jack whispered, reaching out to put an arm around her shoulders, the TARDIS completely gone now.

"Are you alright?" Gwen asked, placing a comforting hand on the girl's arm.

Angel smiled and nodded, resting her hand on Gwen's and squeezing, "I just wanted to see you all. Take...take some time away from everything and just be with family."

They nodded, "Well, let's not keep them waiting then!" Jack cheered, trying to brighten Angel up. She smiled at it, yeah, but…they could both see something else in her eyes, something that went beyond just sorrow for her companion, there was something else bothering her, and they were determined to find out what it was, as gently as they could because they didn't want to upset her any more than she already was.

Jack squeezed her to his side once more and off they went, heading for the Hub.

~8~

"Gray!" Angel laughed as her other 'brother' nearly crushed her in a bear hug that had her lifted off the ground.

The moment she'd entered the Torchwood Hub she'd basically been attacked with hugs! It had been…nice…she hadn't been hugged very often since the Doctor had forgotten her, Rory gave wonderful hugs but…with him gone now…it was just _so nice_ to get a warm hug from so many people in such a short amount of time. It made her smile a real smile for the first time in such a long time.

"Put her down," Jack laughed as Gray did exactly what he did, hugged her side to side but while she was still in the air.

"She's turning blue!" Gwen added jokingly as she set Anwen in a small play area that Jack had _insisted_ they set up in the corner so that he could see the little girl whenever she was brought to work with Gwen.

"I'm fine," Angel told them as she was set back down, "But…what's wrong?" she looked at them, all of them falling silent, "I'm psychic so don't bother trying to lie, I can tell something's worrying you. I know I interrupted something before…" she looked at them, "What's wrong?"

The team just looked at each other, tense, they had all gotten the same impression of Angel the _moment_ they'd seen her, that she was…sad. They wanted this to be a _good_ trip for her, a break, a nice moment, but…with the news Owen had just given them…it didn't seem like it was going to be all that calm or nice.

And they were in it alone, mostly. The hub was up and running and all their scans and software was up-to-date, they were invisible to the rest of the world. Quite literally too, Tosh had worked out how to not get them visible from space. The only ones who knew about them were the government, UNIT, and the Time Lords, all other facilities were in the dark and all evidence of Torchwood was always wiped off of systems as soon as they finished their work. If anyone tried to search for Torchwood, they'd get no results at all. Which might be suspicious in a way, but it also meant no one could find them.

And since they weren't sure it was alien in nature, it made sense that they hadn't been contacted about what was happening in the hospitals yet. It was like…people were only just starting to notice.

"Jack?" Angel turned to him, looking at him for an answer.

He sighed, scratching the back of his neck, trying to debate whether to answer or see if he might possibly get away with lying so as not to worry her. She'd sounded sad on the phone, and he knew that, whatever happened to her companion, must have been recent. He knew what it was like to want to get away from things. It was why the Doctor and the TARDIS weren't there. But he didn't want to worry her any more than she was.

But then Angel noticed something on his arm.

"Jack!" Angel gasped, her eyes wide as she gently reached out to grab Jack's hand, gingerly pulling his sleeve up, frowning as she saw what looked like scratches all over his arm...red and raw, "What happened?!"

"Weevil got me," Jack shrugged, trying to play it off.

"It...it hasn't healed," Ianto added, stating what was on all their fearful minds, it SHOULD have healed by now.

Angel turned her hand over, the palm of her right hand resting on the palm of his, her other hand moving to his elbow and concentrating, the team watching on as gentle golden waves wafted out of her hands, meeting in the middle and seeping into his skin, healing the cut

Jack smiled softly at her for that, "Thanks Ang," he whispered, dropping a kiss to the top of her hair.

"Jack…" Angel just shook her head, "Why aren't you healing?"

She'd sensed something…off…something terribly, _terribly_ bad. But, it was just like in the Aplan maze, it was _everywhere_ , there was so much that was wrong she couldn't work out what it was exactly. But seeing Jack as well had worried her, he felt...different when he'd hugged her earlier, off, not...not normal. Whatever it was that was wrong had affected Jack as well and THAT made it something she needed to help resolve in her mind, Jack was her brother, she wanted to help him as much as she could.

"We're…not sure," Ianto admitted.

"Something's happening," Tosh began, "It…it seems like people aren't dying."

"It's like with Jack," Gray added, "They're just…not dying."

"What?" Angel frowned, looking alarmed, how had she not sensed THAT?! Yes, she was a little distracted...alright a lot distracted...but something like _this_ , something that was affecting _all_ of planet Earth…THAT she should have sensed. She didn't understand her abilities sometimes. How she could sense such small things and miss so many big ones. Mickey had said psychics couldn't see everything, maybe that was it. Maybe she just couldn't see something that affected everything. Oh Mickey, he was so brilliant.

"And I'm not healing," Jack nodded.

Owen looked down as his phone rang, Gwen's phone ringing at the same time, "Harper," Owen answered quickly.

"Hello?" Gwen frowned as she listened to the frantic voice on the other end of her mobile.

"I need to get to the hospital," Owen and Gwen said at once, ending their calls moments later.

"Why?" Ianto frowned.

"What's wrong?" Tosh moved to Gwen who seemed near tears.

"That was Andy," Gwen swallowed, "It's my dad. He's in hospital," she looked at Jack before rushing to get Anwen, "Uh, I've gotta see him."

"I'll give you a ride," Owen nodded, "I've been called in as a medical…" he turned to Jack, " _Expert_ ," he added with a look and they all knew that it meant an alien threat might be the cause.

"I'm coming," Jack decided, "Angie, why don't you stay here with the team…"

"Can I go with you?" Angel cut in, shifting a bit.

Jack blinked at her question, at her actions after it, that…was different. Not quite so different than the previous Angels he'd known, but really quite different than the last time he'd seen her. She'd been so…sure, so take charge, knew just what to do and what was needed. Now she seemed…as insecure and timid as she had been when he'd first met her, unsure of herself.

"Yeah," he nodded, "Gray," he pointed at his brother, "Keep an eye on things," he gestured at Tosh and Ianto who shook their heads at that, but smiled. He always told Gray to 'keep an eye on things,' but in the end it really was just his way of trying to make Gray feel included. And, of all of the team, Ianto and Tosh were the few that didn't have a problem being around Gray alone.

"You got it," Gray nodded.

Jack grabbed his jacket and took Angel's hand as he led her out of the hub, glancing over at her when he felt her squeeze his hand to see her staring down at them with an odd look on her face, "You ok Angie?" he asked, seeing it.

She blinked and looked at him, a bit startled, "Yeah," she nodded, squeezing his hand again, "Just…missed this."

He grinned and winked at her, thinking she meant the adventure and the team.

Really though, she missed someone holding her hand.

~8~

"Right," Jack began as he stepped out of the car that he'd parked by the hospital, Owen having clearance as a doctor there to park nearer, "Gwen, you check on your dad. Angie, Owen, and I will…"

"Actually," Owen cut in, "Angel why don't you go with Gwen," he suggested, "She shouldn't be alone right now."

"Is that ok Gwen?" Angel asked her, putting a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"I'd love it," Gwen breathed, squeezing her hand, "And my parents have heard a lot about you, mum doesn't think you exist."

Angel laughed, "Will you be ok Jack?"

Jack, who had been looking at Owen suspiciously, turned back to her and nodded, "We'll meet you in an hour."

"Ok," Angel gave him a small hug before heading off with Gwen.

Jack waited till they'd disappeared around a corner before turning to Owen, "Any reason you sent her away?"

Owen sighed and rubbed his head, "A big one," he nodded, "You won't want her to see this Jack," he turned and led the way off.

"What's this about Owen?"

"You remember what distracted you from the Weevil?" he glanced at the man's arm.

"Yeah," Jack stiffened.

An assassin.

They'd been in the middle of a routine Weevil round up, when someone had started shooting at them. When they'd realized it was only HIM the assassin was trying to kill, he'd run off to lure the man away from the team, not wanting a stray bullet to hit one of them. He'd managed to corner the man, but he'd had a bomb strapped to him. When he'd realized he'd been caught and cornered (the rest of the team having followed him and surrounded the man despite his orders for them to keep back) he'd unzipped his jacket to reveal the bomb. They'd all run for cover and the man had detonated.

They hadn't thought much of it at that time. Who, besides the fixed point in time, could survive that? Now though, given what they knew about the lack of deaths, he was starting to get a bad feeling.

Owen pushed through a door into a back room, an examination room, to see one of the female doctors in the back, operating scrubs on, with a face mask and hair cover, gloves and a small team with her, one man taking notes, another pictures, and a third videotaping it.

"Dr. Harper," the woman breathed a sigh of relief, "May we begin?"

Jack and Owen stopped at the end of the medical examination table set up before the other hospital staff, staring at the body lying on it.

It was the assassin, looking like a mess of chunks of flesh and scorched clothing, severely burned, literally looking like a red choppy skeleton…

"Begin," Owen nodded.

The woman took a breath, nodding to the recorders, "Session begins supervised by attending surgeon Professor Marian Vincent and witnessed by Dr. Owen Harper and Captain Jack Harkness of Torchwood," Jack winked at her, smirking as she blushed a little, even though he was fully committed to Ianto, he could never pass up a flirt. Marian turned back to the body to distract herself, "The purpose of this enquiry is to determine..." she sighed, looking at Owen, "You'll see," she winced, "Following an explosion, one of the victims has been..."

The men stiffened, the woman falling silent as a faint wheezing sounded...from the body.

"Is he… _alive_?" Jack gaped at the body, now realizing why Angel should NOT be there.

"Yes," Marian nodded sadly, "They brought me in for autopsy but… _this_ happened," she gestured at the man's wheezing and groaning, "I didn't know what the hell this was so I called you," she looked at Owen, "This man was right at the center of the blast...and yet he's _still_ alive," she shook her head and began to try and describe what was happening for the records, "Clearly, the skin is burnt. He's not indestructible, just…undying. Ever-living. We're going to need a new vocabulary. But…" she glanced at the men and leaned forward to speak to Owen and Jack quietly, "We're getting the same results from all over the world."

"Yeah," Owen rubbed his head, "We know."

"What if you detach the head?" Jack wondered, staring at the body, "I mean, would he stay alive...without his head?"

Owen nodded and gave Marian a look, "I suggest we find out."

The woman's eyes narrowed at that, but she turned and took a pair of clippers, moving to what was left of the neck and began to snip at the few strands connecting it to the spin and body. She stepped back when it was fully detached and, a moment later, the head's eyes blinked open, "Oh, my God."

"It's not a virus or evolution," Owen muttered, leaning in to look at the head closer, before turning to Jack, "This is deliberate intervention."

"But how?" Marian shook her head, one of the few doctors who knew about Torchwood given how many aliens appeared in her autopsy bay, "Who could do this?"

"No one on this Earth," Jack muttered.

~8~

"It'll be ok Gwen," Angel reassured the woman as they reached the hall to the room her father was being taken care of in.

Gwen nodded, when someone called out "Gwen!" she looked up to see Rhys walking towards her.

"Rhys," she hugged him tightly, Angel holding Anwen for the time, "What happened?"

"Your dad had a mild heart attack on Saturday night, didn't think anything of it, but then he had a second on Sunday, worse," he swallowed, "He had to be admitted, but he's stable now," he added quickly before sighing, "He's in luck though, if you're going to get sick, he didn't half choose the right day."

"What do you mean?" Angle asked, bobbing Anwen.

Rhys looked over as though just noticing her, "Angel!" he smiled, giving her a hug as well, "I see Anwen's taken a liking to her auntie eh?"

"Auntie?" Angel looked at Gwen.

"Haven't told her yet!" Gwen hissed playfully at Rhys who winced. She sighed and looked at Angel, "We didn't give her a godparent but just…a lot of aunts and uncles, everyone at Torchwood, and you, since you're Jack's 'sister.'"

Angel blinked and smiled, looking at Anwen, "Well then, hello Anwen, I'm your Aunt Angel, it's very, _very_ nice to meet you," Anwen just smiled at her which made her beam and look at Gwen, "Thank you Gwen, it's an honor."

Gwen waved her off, "She probably wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you and the Doctor."

"Still, thanks."

Gwen nodded and they turned to head down the halls, glancing out the windows to see crowds of people gathered outside with candles, "Look at them," she murmured, they'd had a hell of a time getting in because of all those people.

"They're all gathering around the hospitals all over," Rhys remarked, "It was on the telly, calling it 'Miracle Day.'"

"Miracle Day?" Angel frowned…

'… _Miracle Day_ …'

'… _the Blessing_ …'

'… _the Families_ …'

She shook her head, that was…not helpful at all. She had no idea what those words meant or in what context or when she'd hear them or what was important about them. Fat lot of good she was for a psychic.

"People stopped dying," Rhys said as Gwen and Angel looked at each other, "They still get hurt, sick, they just…won't die."

Angel shifted at that, she didn't like death, not at all, but…she knew it was a natural part of life, she knew it was needed for balance. Light and dark, day and night, life and death, it was needed to keep things from falling apart. And…these people, if they could get hurt and sick…they could feel pain…that wasn't life at all, that was just torment. And that was even worse than death, she hated seeing people in pain.

Rhys pushed open a door and let them in, Gwen's father lying on a bed, hooked up to monitors while her mother sat at his bedside.

"Gwen!" her mother breathed, getting up and going to hug her, "And…sorry, who are you?" she asked, spotting Angel.

"Angel," she moved Anwen to one arm, reaching out a hand to shake hers, "Nice to meet you."

Mrs. Cooper blinked and looked at Gwen, who smirked, "She's real," Gwen nodded, making her way over to her father's side.

"Hello," Mrs. Cooper gave Angel a small wave, before noticing Anwen reaching out for her, "Oh, look at her," she laughed as Angel handed the baby over, "Come here. Oh. Good God, she's enormous."

"Hi, dad," Gwen sat down and took her father's hand, "Hey. It's me. Hello."

"Gwen…" he breathed, smiling up at her.

"You," she pointed at him playfully, "Can stop all this nonsense, ok? I want you up and out of this bed, lazy old thing."

"Look at her, though," her mother continued, "She's huge."

"She's perfectly normal, mum."

"Thought you were being frugal. What are you feeding her? Lard?"

Gwen rolled her eyes, "Yes, I'm feeding her lard. Keep telling her that, and by the time she's 13, she'll have a psychological complex."

"Stop it now, you two," Rhys cut in.

Gwen sighed, "Sorry," she reached out and took her mother's hand too, knowing her mother did that when she was upset, distracted herself by commenting on everything.

"Me too," her mother whispered, Angel smiling at the family moment. She glanced over at Angel though, "You're an alien yes?"

"Time Lady," Angel nodded.

"What do you think it is?" she asked, "What happened to us? This...never-ending life. What is it?"

"I'm not sure," Angel told her gently.

"Should I be dead?" Mr. Cooper wheezed.

"I don't know dad," Gwen squeezed his hand, "Torchwood's working on it though," she looked at Angel and nodded, the men had said an hour, but they needed to work it out _now_.

~8~

Gwen and Angel sat before a computer in the nurse's station, Rhys behind them, showing them more websites documenting 'Miracle Day,' "It's all over the world. Look...look at this…" he brought up some world news, "Somalia has stopped fighting. Warfare is even worse when the bodies refuse to die. But take a look at North Korea...huh, spoiling for a fight. They've got a lot of soldiers who think they're immortal."

"The Miracle…" Angel frowned, noticing something, "It's only affecting the humans though."

"Exactly," Rhys nodded, switching to an insect site, "This says if insects stopped dying, we'd be overrun within 48 hours flat."

"Which hasn't happened."

"So this thing is being targeted at us," Gwen sighed, hitting a few more keys and frowning, "Planet Earth...on average, 300,000 people die every day."

"So…" Angel frowned, "If they stop dying, that's...almost a million people in three days."

Rhys nodded, thinking of Anwen, "Add to that 500,000 people born every day...another million every two days plus the first million."

"Bloody hell," Gwen rubbed her head, "We'll run out of room."

"We'll run out of food first," Rhys said grimly, "A guy on the telly was saying we've got four months and then society just collapses, everyone fighting each other for food like animals he said."

"No, you won't," Angel murmured and they looked at her till she noticed and glanced at them, "Because humans are better than that. You'd share, you'd help each other, when things get bad," she clicked another site displaying great acts of humanity throughout history, "You band together and face it."

"And _that's_ why we need a Time Lord with us," Jack's voice said from behind them as he and Owen headed over, both looking a tiny bit weary from what they'd seen.

"Monday, in Shanghai," Owen held up a paper to show them, "11:36 there, was the last reported death...the last death on planet Earth, the last time anyone everywhere died."

Jack looked down as his phone rang, quickly answering it, "Tosh?"

~8~

Tosh stood before the monitors of Torchwood, Gray and Ianto behind her, staring at the screens, "Jack…you need to come back here."

"What's wrong?"

She glanced at the men and back at the message staring at her, "It's the Prime Minister, he needs us to go to America and join up with the UNIT headquarters in Washington D.C."

"Why?"

"The 456 Amendments to the US Code 3184," she closed her eyes, knowing Jack would likely not know about them, "Um, the extraction of alien experts during time of crisis. Well, it's been activated," she sighed, "We're being moved to America."

~8~

Angel sat between Jack and Gray on a small private plane the government had organized to take the Torchwood team to America so they might better handle the supposed 'Miracle,' as UNIT there had found some evidence regarding the Miracle in their country. The government had, at first, refused to let Angel come along, having not even allowed Gwen to bring Rhys and Anwen with her, having believed her to be just another human who was 'playing' Torchwood…

At least until Jack told them her _name_ wasn't Angel, her TITLE was Angel. Which had confused the government representatives till he explained she was a Time Lady, Mate of the Doctor…which had made her wince, not having expected him to go quite so far in his description of her. It had been quite an obvious move that the entire team, even Gray who had only met her once, had noticed. She'd managed to wave it off as being embarrassed or modest, but Jack had given her a small look, sharing a secretive glance with Gray that made her feel like both her brothers knew something else was up. She WAS trying to be modest, she didn't like a lot of attention being put on her normally, and it got even worse when the entire team had jumped in to tell the representatives of her exploits and abilities and how she'd helped Earth in the past.

The representatives hadn't been very believing of it, which was understandable, so Jack had asked her to prove it. She'd used a tiny bit of the Vortex to heal a paper cut on one of their hands, Jack insisting (threatening) them to keep quiet about her ability given the new status of the human race as near immortal and what that meant for healing injuries and pain.

But she'd been allowed on the small plane with Jack, Ianto, Owen, Tosh, Gwen, and Gray (after having sworn to Rhys that she'd take care of them all). And there she was, sitting between her 'brothers' as they watched news feeds on the monitor, wanting to keep up-to-date for when they arrived.

Currently it was a news interview of a man, Oswald Danes, the caption said. He was among the first to be 'saved' by the Miracle Day.

Angel frowned as she watched him, according to the news, the man was a former school teacher who was convicted of…she shuddered at the thought…raping and murdering a little girl, only 12 years old. Her hand subtly went to her stomach, she didn't know the sex of the baby, she probably wouldn't for quite a while if the Universe held to its bargain and let her keep the baby, but…if it was a girl, she couldn't bear to think of anyone doing that to a child. It was truly a terrible, _terrible_ crime, one for which he'd been sentenced to the death penalty, lethal injection, only for it to fail because of the Miracle starting.

He'd been freed on the accounts that he had served out his term and been 'killed' and that it would be forcing him to serve out time for a crime he'd already served time for, a loophole in the laws, along with something about cruel and unusual punishment. It seemed like millions were outraged by that decision to let him go, to let him roam the streets again.

While she didn't agree with death penalties or executions, she did _not_ think a man like that should be let back out where children were.

"And you're aware there's an emergency legal mandate being passed through the courts right this very second specifically dedicated to sending you back to prison?" an interviewer was speaking to him.

They'd given her the control of the news feeds, letting her pick the program because they thought she might stop on one that would be important to know about later, given her feelings. But this one…it just disgusted all of them, yet she couldn't make herself change the channel.

"I understand that, yes," Oswald nodded.

"And what's your response to that?"

"I'll follow the letter of the law."

"Yeah," Jack scoffed as they watched, "Because he'd have a lynch mob after him if he didn't."

"Are you aware of how many people you've upset just by walking free?" the interviewer continued.

"I understand that," Oswald nodded.

"Upset everyone that did," Gwen remarked, thinking of Anwen, Tosh nodded, her hand on her stomach, having gotten special clearance from Owen to be able to fly with them, they already knew their baby was a boy but still, it was a child.

"Yes, but do you understand how people _feel_?" the interviewer stressed, "They are disgusted. They are..."

"Horrified," Ianto muttered, unable to help but think of his niece Mica. If that man had even ever _considered_ anything involving his niece, well, he knew that he (and Torchwood) would have gone after the man, alien or no.

"The legal campaign to reverse your force majeure ruling has gathered over half a million dollars. What's your reaction to that?"

"I'm sure any of those people would find a statement from me offensive," Oswald said, "And I don't wish to add to their distress. It's better if I say nothing."

"What could he possibly say to that anyway?" Owen huffed, putting his arm around Tosh, needing to know she and their baby were ok, even with that monster on the streets, "Nothing, that's what."

"You've got nothing to say?" the interviewer scoffed.

"I think it's best," Oswald nodded.

"Mr. Danes, have you got nothing to say when you see this?" an image came up on the screen of a little girl, such an innocent little girl, "It's a face we all recognize from your trial. Susie Cabina. And she was 12 years old, Mr. Danes. Have you got anything to say now? Perhaps you'd like to use this opportunity, live on television, to say something to her family? We're waiting, Oswald. Do you have anything to say? Anything at all?"

Oswald fell silent, starting to sniffle as he looked at the picture.

"Give me a break," Jack muttered.

"S-s-s..." Oswald started to stutter, "I'm sorry."

"Excuse me?" the interviewer shook his head.

Oswald just sobbed, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. "I'm so sorry."

"Is that it? Is that all?"

"I truly am," Oswald pleaded, "I swear."

Gray frowned, "Do you think he means it?"

"You didn't say sorry at your trial," the interviewer kept on him.

"I know," Oswald nodded pitifully, "I couldn't. I was scared. It's true. I tried to. I tried. I tried. Please."

"What good is sorry, Mr. Danes? Is it going to do anything for Mrs. Cabina every morning when she wakes up?"

Oswald just continued to cry, having a breakdown on screen, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I'm sorry! …I'm sorry."

Jack shook his head at the man and looked over at Angel to see her watching with tears in her eyes, "Angie?"

"No Gray," she whispered, turning the monitor off, "I don't think he means it at all."

Jack put his arm around her, knowing how hard it had to be for her to sit there and listen to a man who had done such a terrible crime, claim to feel sorry and to _know_ , instinctively, in her soul, that he didn't mean a word of it. Angel always tried to see the best in humanity, and this…this was one of the absolute worst examples he'd ever seen.

~8~

Oswald Danes smirked to himself as he walked through the set of the news station after his 'touching' and 'heartfelt' interview.

The saps.

Another young woman that he'd had words with earlier had rushed over to him afterwards to apologize for being cold to him, amazing how one 'apology' could change the way people looked at you.

"Ooh, hold it!" a young ginger woman in a bright red jacket ran up to him, managing to slide into the lift with him and the police officer that had been tasked with escorting him, "Hold it! Wait!" she beamed as she managed to get in, "Thank you. Thank you so much," she started digging around in her rather large bag, glancing at him and the officer, "I don't suppose you have the time, do you?"

Oswald looked at his watch, "Five after two."

"Is it?" she blinked, "Oh, thanks," she looked at her phone and rolled her eyes, seeing that it was dead, "I am so stupid. I forgot to change the battery in this thing. Supposed to just do it once a year, Halloween or Christmas. But then you're thinking about candy or presents, aren't you?" she laughed at the joke, glancing at him subtly, "I thought you were very good."

"I'm sorry?" he looked at her, not really paying attention till just then.

"Jilly Kitzinger, Mr. Danes," she introduced, grinning, "I'm something of a talent spotter. That was the most amazing performance."

"Oh..." he shifted, a bit disturbed she'd spotted that, "It wasn't a performance."

"Right," she gave a smiling scoff, "No, _of course_. My mistake. Please, officer, don't shoot!" she held her hands up in surrender jokingly at the officer who chuckled at her, before presenting Oswald with a card, "But here's my business card. I'm in public relations. Not for this channel. I have other employers."

"I don't need you."

"I disagree, Mr. Danes," she smirked, "You have what we call a high media quotient."

"Oh, everybody hates me."

"No," she shook her head, "That interview has you trending on Twitter with the hashtag 'forgive.' You're really _very_ good," she eyed him, already imagining what her employers would give her for nabbing this man for them, "Of course there'd be a fee. But I'd only take 10 percent of your earnings."

"Good luck," he laughed, "That's 10 percent of nothing."

"You didn't get paid for that?" she raised an eyebrow.

"It was a news show. They don't pay."

"Ok, Oswald," she scoffed, rolling her eyes, "That's really very funny…" until she saw his serious look, "You mean you didn't...you just didn't make a cent? Really? Ok, that is positively hilarious. Now I wish I could stay. I'm needed in Washington. But you hold onto my card, sir," she nodded at the one in his hand, "There's a reason churches are empty. People don't want to hear about heaven. They'd rather hear from a man who's gazed into hell…you. And frankly, if the devil himself were to walk this Earth, he'd need representation."

Oswald just smirked, "If the devil himself walked this Earth, he'd surely be working in PR."

Jilly grinned at that.

"Mr. Danes!" the young woman who had apologized to him earlier ran down the stairs beside the lift, "Oh, I thought you'd left, sorry, um, Mr. Tepper sent me. Oprah Winfrey's people are on the phone. She wants to talk to you. She asked for you personally. She wants you on the show."

Oswald smirked back at Jilly, "Looks like I'm doing fine without you."

"Mhmm," she smirked right back, "All the same, keep the card."

"I...think not," Oswald tore it in half right in front of her and tossed it in the waste bin as he followed the young woman to speak to Mr. Tepper.

Jilly watched him go a moment before smiling and walking off herself.

~8~

"We need a plan of action," Jack stated as they all gathered together in their plane seats, forming a giant lopsided circle for the 7 of them.

"What I don't understand is," Ianto began, "This thing that's happening to the world, this miracle or whatever they're calling it…it must have something to do with you two," he looked at Jack and Angel.

"Are you saying it's our fault?" Jack frowned, a little hurt that Ianto would say that.

"No," Ianto shook his head, "It's just…it's like everything's been switched around isn't it?"

"It _can't_ be a coincidence," Tosh had to agree, "It's too specific."

"They're right," Gray nodded, "For everyone in the world to be immortal and then for YOU, alone, to be mortal…"

"You have to admit it's connected," Owen nodded.

"Doesn't mean it's either of our fault though," Jack defended.

Angel reached out and took his hand, knowing he was getting more riled up at the thought that they were accusing HER instead of the both of them, "It's ok Jack, it _does_ make sense," she squeezed his hand, "I made you immortal," she frowned, "And now, somehow, someone had to have worked out how, taken what was done to you and…I don't know, broadcast it to the entire world."

"And since you're the source, you would be immune to it," Gwen nodded, "It's got nothing to do with you or Angel if the wires got crossed," she reassured him.

Angel sighed and rubbed her head, "I'm sorry."

"What for?" Gray frowned at her, the rest of the team look at her confused as well.

"It's just…it seems like every time the Doctor turns up, something goes wrong…"

"That's the _Doctor_ , Angie," Jack reminded her.

"I don't know, maybe…maybe it's just Time Lords," she shrugged.

"What you think this happened because you came to visit?" Owen scoffed.

"Owen," Tosh whacked him on the chest, all of them seeing Angel was actually truly upset about that thought.

"I'm not sure," she admitted, "I just feel like…everything goes wrong around me too lately."

It was probably the baby, that little piece of the Doctor in her that had given her his luck. But she knew, she was talking about even before discovering the baby, she was talking about the Doctor's regeneration. Maybe…maybe something had gone wrong with it, maybe she'd distracted him or her presence there had made him too focused on her and the strain of trying to fight it had just…damaged him somehow. And his mind had had to block out everything about her to recover?

That was one of the more ridiculous theories she'd had. They were slowly becoming more ridiculous though, because the only ones that she could think of that might fit or work were…she was going to be erased by a crack in time, like Rory was, and it was echoing back on the Doctor since, in that case, they'd never have Mated, or…or he just regretted Mating to her and was trying to move on from her.

There was always that one theory that, perhaps, he just hadn't wanted to leave her, hadn't wanted her to be with another man so badly that he had blocked himself from being with her. Of all the theories, she hoped that was the right one, but she doubted it.

"That is a complete load of bollucks," Gwen told her, reaching out to squeeze her arm, "Whenever you turn up, things end up going very very right."

"If it weren't for you Angel, we'd be dead," Tosh whispered, squeezing Owen's arms as he wrapped them around her.

"Cardiff would be in ruins," Gwen agreed.

"I'd be dead," Ianto nodded.

"I'd have…" Gray swallowed, "I'd have done so much worse than just hurting Tosh, but you stopped me."

"You saved _all_ of us Angel, literally," Jack put his arm around her shoulders, squeezing her to his side, "You saved me on Satellite 5, and you…you haven't _stopped_ since then. And I'm not just talking about saving me or the team, you've saved so many other people, you've saved the Earth how many times? How many other planets and species are safe now because of YOU?"

"The Doctor…" Angel began.

"No," Jack cut in, "I'm talking about the ones YOU saved."

She bit her lip, considering that, "A few, I suppose."

"A few?" Owen snorted, making the others laugh, "Try the whole bloody Universe who knows how many times."

Angel started to smile at that.

"I'll tell you what Angie," Jack smiled at her, "I'm glad YOU'RE here and not the Doc, imagine the sort of luck we'd have then?" he started laughing, " _You're_ the good luck charm remember?"

Angel smile went a bit sad at that, though the others didn't seem to notice.

"There's no one else we'd rather save the Earth with than you Ang…ie," Gray added, stumbling a bit over her name. He'd always called her Angel, it being Jack's thing to call her Angie or Ang, but...they were family.

Angel smiled fully at that, reaching out to take Gray's hand.

"And now you get to show us a thing or two about how to save the world," Owen nudged her.

"I don't need to show you anything," Angel shook her head, "You're already brilliant at that," she looked at each of them, smiling at her, there for her, wanting her there, "You amazing, incredible human beings," she shook her head, "I think you're the reason why I love the Earth so much, my friends, my family."

They smiled, knowing she meant Martha and Mickey and Donna and Sarah Jane and Rose too, but it was still nice to hear her say that.

"How do you do that?" Tosh shook her head, laughing, "That's really brilliant."

"Do what?" Angel looked at her.

But it was Gwen who answered, "We're trying to reassure you and you…still make US feel better at the same time."

Angel looked thoughtful a moment, "Just a gift."

"You _are_ a gift," Ianto told her, the others nodding in agreement.

"Thank you," she whispered, tears in her eyes, and, for the first time in such a long time…they were happy tears. She took a breath though and shook her head, "Sorry," she laughed, "I got us off topic of the plan. Jack?"

He laughed, leave it to her to remind them they should be more worried about the rest of the planet than her, "As soon as we touch down, we need to start researching the morphic fields?"

"The what fields?" Gray shook his head, still a bit new to all that sort of talk.

"The Sheldrake Theory," Tosh began, "Passing connective information through the process of morphic resonance."

Gray just stared at her, before glancing at Jack, "Was that English?"

They laughed at that, "The theory states," Jack began to explain in simpler terms, "That a bunch of monkeys on an island learn to use a rock as a knife. Then monkeys on another island, 10,000 miles away, _also_ learn to use a rock as a knife. That's a morphic field, it's what connects them and lets them learn the same thing at the same time."

"It's not a theory though," Angel cut in, "I've seen it in play, last…last Christmas," she shook her head, deciding to say it and not think about it and what had happened after it, "The Master returned while you were on honeymoon," she smiled at Tosh and Owen.

"What?!" Jack shouted, his eyes wide, "Angel why didn't you tell me that at the bar!?"

He would have wanted to know if the psychotic Time Lord who had been (in his mind) responsible for the death of his sister, not once but two times, had returned! ...mostly so he could kill the man himself. Then wait till he regenerated, and then kill him again.

She shrugged, "The um…the Doctor was about to regenerate," she said quietly.

Jack blinked, "Sorry," he said, quieter now, squeezing her hand, "What's the new boy like?"

"Bowtie," was all she could bring herself to say, and it seemed to be enough for Jack as he nodded his head like it explained everything, "Anyway, he used alien technology to tap into the morphic field, to turn every single human on Earth into him. So it's not a theory, it's fact, it exists."

Jack nodded, "The amazing thing about the miracle isn't that no one's dying, it's not that the Human Race has become immortal. It's that it happened to everyone at the same time," Jack agreed.

"It was instantaneous," Tosh whispered.

"And that's a morphic event on a scale that _I_ have never seen before," Jack sighed, "Whatever's happening to this planet, it's massive!" he looked at Angel, smiling, "Looks like you're our expert on morphic events," he winked at her.

Angel looked at them, seeing them looking at her with encouragement and smiled. She'd…almost forgotten what it was like to have people look at you like they thought you were brilliant and like they thought you could help them and work it out. Rory had looked at her like that, encouraging, faithful in her abilities, believing in her…the Doctor used to look at her like that. So, it was really nice to know that others still did.

Yes, she was clever, maybe not as clever as the Time Lords, but clever in her own way, and she was resourceful, and determined, and…she could do this. Because she had her family with her, she could do anything.

"Now," Jack spoke, "When we land, teams, Owen, you take the medical panels. Gwen, you and Gray hit the UNIT HQ with Tosh, Tosh I want all access to their databanks, connect it through to our equipment, Ianto help her get it set up."

"What about me?" Angel asked.

Jack grinned, "You, Angie, you and me are handling the paper trail."

~8~

A panel of medical experts stood gathered in various conference rooms of a large complex in Washington, D.C., all trying to work out new ways to run the hospitals and handle emergencies while also trying to determine what could have happened. Clearly it was something internal, so it had to be the human body at stake, that was their area of expertise.

"Surely you're not arguing that this is some kind of extraterrestrial virus?" a young female doctor scoffed at her peer for his out-of-this-world suggestion as their team gathered in one small room of the third floor.

"Well, I'm not ruling it out," the man shrugged, "No virus known to man could spread so rapidly."

"Exactly," a voice said from the doorway.

The entire gathering looked over to see Owen standing there, dressed completely contrary to his profession, black converse on, jeans, a t-shirt and leather jacket, his hair slightly stuck up.

"You're not the person they said would take coffee orders?" another man asked, eyeing him critically, all the others dressed in suits or business attire.

Owen laughed at that, "I prefer tea," he said.

"You're not America," the young woman narrowed her eyes at him.

"Never would have guessed that, thanks," he rolled his eyes, "Nope, not America, but an expert."

"Look, this isn't a place for Doogy Houser," the man who had suggested the alien-virus began, clearly thinking Owen either inexperienced or too young to be of any use.

"Dr. Owen Harper," he cut in, "Medical expert and alien examiner for _Torchwood_."

The room fell silent.

"You've heard of us then," he grinned, crossing his arms.

The occupants shifted, apparently, under the 456 Amendments, all gatherings of panels to discuss the crisis were to be informed of its origin and briefed on the experts that would be deployed, not that many people believed it was alien in nature, like that woman, but they were aware that, for Torchwood or UNIT to be there, that the higher authority had been brought in.

"Now," he walked in, holding up is phone, "I've got a treat for you all from Koontz at Tel Aviv Medical," he hit a button and the information appeared on a projection on the wall, "They're reporting all cellular necrosis has stopped. Which we already know," he nodded, "But what they did was try to kill living tissue in the lab, but the tissue's gone into hibernation."

"Wait a minute," the first man shook his head, "They're killing 'living' human tissue? What does _that_ mean?"

"An assassin that came after my teammate set off a bomb," Owen continued as though he hadn't been interrupted, "Was right in the middle of it, and I saw him after, burned, charred, dead, but still moving, still seeing and thinking and conscious. Still living."

"So how is that hibernation?" the woman shook her head.

"It's hibernation because," he tapped another button and a new set of information appeared, "The hibernation isn't fixed. There's a natural oscillation, like they're increasing the life factor."

"Why is Howard at Mass General asking for more antibiotics?" another man, bald with glasses, asked from near a monitor, looking at various postings on the same site Owen had brought up.

"Who knows?" a younger man, probably the youngest doctor three, remarked, "They have plenty of supplies."

Owen rolled his eyes, this was going to be a _long_ day. He didn't know if it was their franticness and inexperience in dealing with a situation like this, but he was starting to get a headache, "He's not asking for his hospital, he's talking about a policy change. And he's right," he looked over but the group was just staring at him, confused, oh dear Lord this was going to be a _very_ long day, "This 'Miracle' has turned the entire Human Race into germ incubators. Hospital beds full of people who should die won't, which includes…" he gestured around, "Anyone?" before sighing, "People with infections."

"If they were dead," the woman started to nod, "The infection would prey on the corpse and no one would mind, but now that they're alive, they're just going to sit there and stay in the living body and..."

"Multiply," he agreed, "Now if you lot keep giving them antibiotics..." he gestured at them again.

"The infections will become resistant," the bald man realized, "In six months, drug-resistant organisms will be everywhere."

"There's no way this is going to get better is there?" the first man sighed.

Owen smirked, "Well it's a good thing you've got me then," he grinned, plopping down on a rolling chair and putting his feet up, "I'm brilliant…" he sat up suddenly though when his phone rang.

"We're not supposed to have phones at panel," the young doctor remarked.

"Diplomatic immunity," Owen shrugged, "And it's the missus," he smiled, answering the phone, "Tosh, what do you have for me."

"Medical examination in the UNIT database," she answered, "Something you ought to see, sending it to you now."

He looked t his phone as it beeped, "Got it, thanks love."

"Oh, calling me love in public," she laughed, making him smile, "They must be getting to you."

"Tell me about it," he groaned, "Five minutes in and not a clever voice in the room but mine," he ignored the glares he got for that remark.

"Well you _are_ brilliant," Tosh remarked, "So be brilliant and work it out and come home so we can regroup and work out the next step."

"Aye aye," he joked, "See you soon," he flipped the phone closed.

"Now see here…" the first man began, clearly insulted by Owen's remark.

Owen just held up a finger, "If I think I'M brilliant, wait till you see what my wife found for you," he grinned, turning around in the chair and brining up an image of a medical examination…of an arm.

A completely detached and severed arm, cut upon in areas, but still…moving.

"It's proof," the medical examiner in the footage was saying, having sent the display to UNIT for help, "We have absolute proof. We compared the telomeres from yesterday with the telomeres from 48 hours ago. There's no doubt, they're shortening, which means we're still aging."

"What kind of immortality is that?" the first man frowned, voicing what they were all thinking.

"Tithonus," Owen remarked.

"Who?" the young woman frowned.

"A Greek goddesses asked Zeus to make Tithonus immortal," it was the young doctor who answered, "But she forgot to ask for eternal youth. He became so ancient and decrepit, he eventually shrank into a cicada. He begged for death."

"This is no miracle. This is just...this just means that sooner or later we're all going to hell."

"I'd go with later," Owen said, "Torchwood is working on this and we've got an expert of our own when it comes to immortality, two really. Believe me, this whole thing is temporary. We'll reverse it, eventually, we _will_ set the world right again."

"But we can't assume that it'll just happen tomorrow," the first man stated, "Or even the next day, all we know is that things are different now."

"So we prepare for the now," Owen shrugged, "Look," he sighed, "The dead, the people who should be dead are gonna pile up, suffering and in pain till they wait for the reversal to happen. So we need to manage their pain, keep them comfortable till my team can fix this. Put out calls to start manufacturing painkillers, now, because I guarantee, if you wait it'll be chaos of people wanting relief and doing whatever it takes to get it. Best to provide it for them eh? Be the ones in control," he nodded, seeing them all in agreement, "Good, now that that's settled, I'm off for tea," he winked at them and sauntered out, chuckling to himself, he loved it when he got to prove his knowledge, be an asset, be in charge.

"Dr. Harper?" a voice called behind him, "I'm sorry, Dr. Harper?" he glanced back to see a ginger woman in a red coat following him, Jilly, "Sorry to bother you, may I walk with you?"

"You'd have to, I'm not stopping," he replied.

"Thanks," she smiled, jogging a little to keep up with his wide strides, "I was sitting in on the meeting just then and I hope you don't mind me saying, but you were magnificent."

He smirked, "I know."

"Just everyone in there, just yap, yap, yap, yap. But you just cut right through. It was...I could have stood up and applauded."

He glanced at her, already knowing she wasn't a doctor, "Why were you there? You're not a doctor."

"Oh, God no," she laughed, "Too squeamish. Jilly Kitzinger, public relations. Yes. Let me give you my card. Here," she handed him one, eager to get her name in with him, she was WELL aware of who Torchwood was by her employers, oh they would be thrilled to know she'd managed to track down a team member, maybe get an 'in' with him, maybe find out more about where they were and what they were planning and what they knew, be a little spy.

Owen took one look at the logo on it and shook his head, "I know Phi-Corp, I don't need drugs, thanks," he tried to hand the card back.

"No, I know," she just pushed it back into his hand, "I know, I know, I know. I know. I said, 'They're working hard in there. They don't need me getting in the way.' But my boss was like, 'Jilly.' And he gave me that look. So...but it's destiny, I think. Here we are, you and me, working together. Please take it."

"One condition," Owen stated, serious.

"Name it," she smiled.

"You shut up."

Jilly just kept smiling, zipping her lips as he took it.

"Thanks," he rolled his eyes and kept on walking, heading down the steps of the establishment, nearly groaning as he heard Jilly rushing after him, her heels clicking.

"I just have to ask," Jilly began, "Have you considered January 15th?"

"Which January 15th?"

"January 15th of this year, the Senate Committee For Drugs And Alcohol voted to ring-fence the national stockpile of surplus drugs for use only by the civil defense program, which does not technically include this current scenario. But you need that stockpile immediately. But I think it could be suggested that a few clever doctors talk to their senators to reverse that decision immediately," she smirked, which made Owen frown in suspicion, not that she seemed to notice, "I don't know. Just a thought, right? Never say never."

Owen paused and looked at her a moment, before his gaze drifted to something past her shoulder as she stood in front of him on the steps, having blocked his view. Jilly frowned and turned to see him staring at a man and woman with black hair and light eyes, one in a WWII jacket, the other in a dark blue dress, waiting by a black car. She frowned, squinting, recognizing the man, but not the woman.

"There are a few things I say never to," Owen remarked, having seen Angel's gaze flicker to the woman and then to him as she turned her back to face him again.

"And what's that?" she smiled perkily again.

"Gingers," he smirked at her, saluting her with the card before pushing past her and heading over to Jack and Angel, Jilly watching him go with a frown. It was a lie of course, he had no issue with gingers, Angel had been ginger at one point, but he really wanted that woman to back off.

~8~

Angel stood in the small flat that UNIT had rented for the team to work in, knowing that they preferred to work privately and with their own software and equipment, but agreed to be under 'supervision' of UNIT. Tosh was sitting at a desk with a few computers around her, Gray helping her set them up, while Jack and Ianto went through the files that UNIT had provided. Gwen and Owen, the man having returned the previous night chipper at having 'established his authority' with the medical panel, were gathering the last of the evidence that UNIT had claimed was necessary to bring Torchwood there from the UNIT base.

She really had no idea how the equipment worked and there weren't that many papers to go through so she was just flipping through channels on the TV, trying to see what might be on the news that could help them, staring at the large monitor affixed to the wall.

She frowned, stopping as she saw Oswald Danes giving another interview, "What happened to you in there?" the interviewer was asking.

"Something happened to all of us, not just me. Miracle Day arrived and...we all came out of it changed."

"But why do you think people accept you as an expert?"

"I'm no expert, but I'm a free man. And since the miracle, the White House has said nothing. Scientists have said nothing. I think the establishment is scared into silence. I survived. I can say what I want."

"Such as?"

"Well, is anyone paying attention to the profits that the drug companies are making?" Angel frowned at that, tilting her head, she'd never really concerned herself with the economies of other worlds before, having spent so long around the Doctor and with Gallifrey gone she hadn't ever really thought of money, " We need drugs more than ever. But I think we should take all those pills, those tablets, and those potions, and give them to people free. Yes, that's what I'm saying, because that's how radical the world needs to be right now. Free drugs, free health care, free access for all."

"You think that's practical?"

"Who's to say what's practical? That's pre-Miracle thinking."

"Can you turn that off?" Tosh called, shifting in her seat as the interview continued, "He gives me the shivers that one."

"Of course," Angel nodded, flicking the monitor off and shooting Tosh an apologetic smile, "Sorry."

"Thanks," Tosh grinned back, before cheered, "And we are up!"

"Just in time too," Owen called as he walked in with Gwen, casting a quick glance at Gray who had moved away from Tosh, and tossed Jack a phone, "Catch."

"And this is?" Jack eyed it curiously.

"That assassin," Gwen began, not noticing Jack making cutting motions at his neck and shaking his head frantically.

"What assassin?" Angel turned to him sharply.

Jack winced, "That's how the Weevil got me, there was a man shooting at me."

Angel blinked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Didn't want to worry you Ang," he smiled at her, handing her the phone, "Let's just say we're even for the Master coming back and start fresh."

She rolled her eyes good-naturedly, "Deal," and shook his hand.

"What about the assassin?" Ianto asked, coming to lean against the sofa beside Jack, crossing his arms.

"That phone belonged to the man who organized for it to happen, a Mr. Friedkin of the CIA," Gwen told them.

"UNIT traced a deposit to the assassin's bank account to that phone," Owen nodded, moving over to Tosh and starting to massage her shoulders, having seen her rolling them when he walked in.

Tosh beamed up at him and took his hand, kissing it quickly in thanks as he dropped a kiss to her hair, Angel smiling sadly as she watched them, so happy for them but unable to help being reminded of the Doctor and her and how they'd been.

"And that," Gwen pointed at it as Gray took it from Angel to examine, "Is not his ordinary phone. There's only one number on it, blocked, but that means…"

"He's got a contact," Jack sighed, "Someone told him to send the assassin after me."

"It could be anyone," Ianto frowned.

"And if they sent one," Gray sighed, concerned for his brother, "They'll send more. You never give up the hunt when the target is within reach. They nearly got you once Jack."

"They…" Angel murmured, looking at the phone with a frown, taking it back.

Jack eyed her closely, knowing that look, "What is Ang?"

She blinked, staring at the phone, " _They_ ," she emphasized, looking up at them, "I…I don't think it's just one person who contacted him…I think there's more than one of them," she looked back down at it, "And they're everywhere."

The team shifted at that, "Well then," Jack grinned, "We better get to work."

~8~

They hadn't left the flat all day, each of them working on how to try and find out more about what was going on. They knew now that the assassin was connected to the Miracle Day and that it was linked to Jack and, by association, Angel so they'd focused on different areas to try and get something worked out.

Jack was researching the morphic fields while Ianto worked on trying to dig deeper into the assassin's life, to try and find out if he was connected more deeply to the Miracle or was just a hired hand, taking the attempt on Jack's life a bit more personally than the others. Tosh was trying to crack the contact on the mobile while Owen went over medical records, applying his knowledge of aliens to try and work out what exactly was happening to the Human Race. Gwen was targeting Friedkin, finding out all about his back story while Angel and Gray had been creating a collage of information and locations on the wall, all the information they had of the Miracle, the times it happened, the examples of the different forms of life now, from normal to brain dead and everything in between, before the three of them had decided to venture out into the streets and get dinner for everyone.

"Gwen," Ianto looked up when she entered, "Andy's moved Rhys and Anwen to a safe house so they should be just fine."

"Good," Gwen breathed a sigh of relief, "It is absolutely mental out there."

"This one TV show's claiming that the Miracle's a virus," Gray explained as he and Angel set down the Chinese food onto the small coffee table in the sitting room, "But then another website said it was the plague…"

"Everyone seems to be panicking and trying to clear the shops," Angel murmured, "But they haven't thought to try the restaurants though," she shrugged, leaving it up to the mindset of panic.

"Oh, and the new cult out on the street," Gwen walked to the window and pulled a curtain open so they could see below, a line of people holding candles, marching silently, with white masks that had a sad face on it with a tear just…walking, "They call themselves 'The Soulless.' Apparently, everlasting life has robbed mankind of their souls."

"That's rubbish," Owen scoffed.

"But _this_ is gorgeous," Tosh smiled, digging into her sweet and sour chicken, having been craving something sweet and sour all day.

"Did you find out anything on Friedkin's phone?" Jack looked at Tosh.

She held up a finger, munching, before swallowing, "I traced the number on it, but it hit a vine."

"A what?" Angel frowned.

"A vine is when you trace a number back," Jack began to explain, "But the trail branches out again and again. Piggyback those secondary numbers spreading out almost exponentially."

"So, instead of tracing one number, you're chasing 500,000," Gray finished, having picked up quite a lot from the team.

"Maybe you could help," Ianto looked at Angel, "Try and point her in the direction of the right vine to follow?"

Angel blinked, "I could try yeah," she nodded.

"Brilliant," Tosh grinned.

"I also think we should try and find out more on Oswald Danes."

They looked at her, "Why?" Owen frowned, "What's he got to do with anything?"

"I dunno," she shrugged, "But he's…he's everywhere like they are."

Jack nodded, "He's on every channel. We need to investigate anyone making a profit out of all of this."

"On it," Ianto called, motioning for Tosh to stay seated on the sofa and finish her meal as he carried his to the desk she'd been using, Jack smirking at that, leaning over to watch him walk to the desk.

"Stop it," Angel laughed, seeing him eyeing Ianto's bum.

"Try searching his family history," Tosh added, glancing at Ianto over her shoulder.

"Got it," he nodded, starting to type away.

"Urg," Gwen grimaced suddenly, wiping down her tongue, "Don't drink that," she gestured at her soda can, "This lemonade is flat."

"It's lemonade," Gray remarked, "It's supposed to be flat."

"Tastes horrid."

Angel eyed the can and reached forward, "Can I?"

"Be my guest," Gwen ushered it away from her, drinking some water to get the taste out of her mouth before pulling a laptop up to her, getting back to her searches to distract her.

Angel cautiously sipped it, "Tastes fine to me," she shrugged, drinking more of it.

"That settles it then," Owen laughed, "Definitely an alien."

Jack swallowed his egg roll, "I tried to do a search on morphic fields because that's the best that I could work out, that some sort of morphic field suspended the Human Race. But it's got to be more than that."

"What do you mean?" Gwen frowned.

"It's like there's some sort of energy behind this, a will, a drive, a consciousness, because this miracle, it's more than people just surviving. They are _so_ alive. We've seen it, Owen and I, bodies at the morgue burnt and broken, still alive, staring right at us. They weren't even allowed to be unconscious. It's as if something is willing them to go on, each and every individual forced into life."

"So, what did the search say?" Ianto asked.

"That's the problem. Everybody's had the same idea. Morphic field gets 10 million results."

Tosh nodded, "Then I'll go through them," she got up, "Off Ianto, come on," she gestured him out of her seat, "That's MY job."

Jack smirked and patted the sofa beside him of Ianto to sit.

"Ah!" Gwen cheered, "I found something about the…ATF?"

"What's the ATF?" Angel frowned.

"The ATF is the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives," Jack answered, of course he WOULD know that particular department, explosives and firearms were his specialty it seemed.

"Whatever it is," Gwen waved him off, "They asked the CIA about information on a warehouse here in Washington, but Friedkin forwarded the request onto ancillary three times…what's ancillary?"

"It's a paper chase," Ianto spoke this time, having ample experience with it, "Way to lose something in the system."

"So…" Owen began, "If he tried to stop people from seeing the warehouse…"

"Then maybe he was paid to protect it," Gray agreed.

"He's hiding something there," Angel realized.

"It's at 3rd and Boston, south west," Gwen called.

"Alright," Jack grinned, brushing off his hands as he looked at his team, "So we've got a mission."

~8~

"Tosh," Jack called into his phone, on speaker, as he, Angel, Gray, and Gwen pulled up to the location, "We're here, 3rd and Boston."

"Right," Tosh said and they could hear typing at the keyboard, "Security profile says the guard's on a quarterly rotation. He checks in with base every 15 minutes starting on the hour."

"Got it," Jack turned in his seat to look at Angel and Gray, "Ever seen Gwen in action?"

Gwen smirked.

~8~

The car, without Jack or Gray, pulled up to the security guard as he made his way over, "Hi," Angel smiled at him from the backseat as he checked there first.

"What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Could you help us?"

"Sure."

"Wonderful," Gwen called, motioning him to the front as she pulled out a map, "We're a little bit lost. Sorry. The British abroad, hopeless, honestly. I think we're trying to get to Boston Avenue…" she blinked and looked back at Angel, "Is it Boston...Boston Road?" before turning to the man again, "Or Boston...is it Boston Street?" before reaching through the window and grabbing his tie, yanking him down hard till he smashed his head against the car and was knocked unconscious.

"You do that a lot?" Angel frowned, getting out of the car.

"So many times," Gwen sighed, doing the same, careful to step over the man as Jack and Gray ran up.

"How much time do we have Angie?" Jack asked.

"11 minutes," she answered promptly.

"Right, Gray," he pointed at him, "Keep watch," he patted his brother on the shoulder, "Guard the car."

"On it," Gray ran back to it, hopping in the front as they ran off to the doors.

They found a panel on the wall with the controls for the locks in it, "I can unlock it," Gwen remarked, "But only by tricking it into thinking it's booting up for the day, but that means all the lights come on, the computers boot up."

"I might be able to help," Angel stepped up and rubbed her forefinger and thumb together, building up a little spark of energy which she zapped at the controls, the lock beside them clicking, the lights still off.

"Brilliant!" Jack cheered, hugging her to his side as Gwen pulled the door open, all of them rushing in. They turned on some torches, looking around at the dark warehouse, filled with boxes. Jack wandered over to one on the ground, "Let's see what's in this," he handed Angel his torch to pull the box open, pulling out tubs of what looked like enlarged pill containers.

"Are those…drugs?" Angel frowned, not having the best memory of them given what the 456 had been about to do to the children of Earth.

"Legitimate drugs," Jack nodded, "You getting this Tosh?" he tapped an earpiece.

"The contacts are picking up everything just fine Jack," Ianto answered instead.

"What is it?" Gwen squinted, reading the labels, "Metanec?

"Metanec is a painkiller," Owen explained, "Non-narcotic. They keep you painless and wide awake."

"Which is a little too perfect for what's happening," Angel murmured.

Gwen stood and looked around, her light flashing on more and more boxes, "Thousands of them. Millions of them."

"Phi-Corp," Jack spotted on a box.

"Did you say Phi-Corp?" Owen asked.

"Yeah, you know Phi-Corp," Gwen cut in, "Big pharmaceutical company. We've got Phi-Corp. It's everywhere. Worldwide."

"Yeah, Gwen, I know what it is thanks," Owen remarked, "That woman I told you about, that Ginny…"

"Jilly," Tosh laughed, correcting him.

"Doesn't matter, she works for them."

"Jack," Angel called, having wandered to a clipboard, "This says there was a delivery yesterday."

"When was the first one?" Gwen and Jack wandered over.

Jack took the clipboard and flipped through it, "Way back. Oh, hold on. Deliveries go back at least a year, all for drugs. All from Phi-Corp…" he looked up when Angel walked away from them, "Angie?"

"This way," she murmured, frowning as she led them through the factory, to a back door, pushing it open to reveal an enormous room beyond, filled with even more drugs, _tons_ of them.

"Oh, my God," Gwen breathed.

"Bigger on the inside than the outside," Jack joked, nudging Angel.

"All of them are painkillers," she stated, just knowing it.

"They're ready for a war," Owen remarked, him, Ianto, and Tosh seeing it on the laptop.

"No," Angel shook her head, "They were ready for the Miracle," she looked at them, alarmed, "Phi-Corp knew it was coming."

~8~

Owen was _not_ a happy camper as he entered the panel that night, he'd gotten a call to come in, some other crisis arising and had had to leave Tosh and Ianto alone, that, coupled with his lingering jet lag had made him irritable and tired and not in the mood to put up with people who had no idea what they were dealing with and just going to complain about it.

"What?" he rubbed his head as he entered the room of the main panel, the one that he'd been assigned to was now the one running practically the entire bloody country's medical changes and he wasn't even an American citizen!

"The 50 percent of pregnancies that spontaneously abort are not aborting," one of the men said, the bald man from the other day, "Genetic mistakes are suddenly viable."

"No baby is a mistake," the young doctor cut in.

Owen rolled his eyes, "Where are you from then?"

"Providence," the boy smiled, "Dr. Carey Murphy."

"Maybe when you graduate," Owen scoffed, "We're not talking religion here, we're talking medical facts. That's brain outside the skull, no skin, no face, and if you want to get religious, tiny souls, _suffering_ , _endlessly_ in a squishy watery hell. Yeah, these are mistakes."

They all looked over suddenly as a mess of pills fell onto the table, "Oh, hell," Jilly, who was sitting at the end of the table, cursed, before grinning sheepishly at them, trying to gather her fallen samples, "Sorry. Um, but actually, I think we can help. Jilly Kitzinger. Hi. Pain management in newborns is something we've already got going on at Phi-Corp, so we can roll out a strategy."

"We've got a bigger problem," another doctor called, "Somebody got off a plane from New Delhi in Boston and now we've got cholera. I warned you!"

Owen hunched forward and rubbed his head, "Boston's got clean water, next?"

"The birth issue…" the bald man picked up again, "They put contraceptives in the water in India, mainland China. We might have to look at that."

"That's not a serious proposition?" the woman from the other day scoffed.

"Buy a condom," Owen cut in, "Look, we need to talk about the situations in the ERs. Long-term doesn't matter if you lot can't work out how to handle the short term. This is going to be fixed, this is going to end, focus on the short term, pleasee. You're running out of space, you need more. Simple as that."

"We'll put it on the agenda," the bald doctor remarked sarcastically, "But we're getting pretty far off track. Can we talk about the contraception option with professional distance?"

Owen just got up and walked out, let them handle their own medical disputes, he was only there to see if it was an alien matter yet no one was considering it, find the root, find the source, of it and things would be fine, they'd resolve themselves.

He nearly groaned, hearing high heels rush after him, "It's been raining on and off," Jilly began, catching up to him as he paused to look out the window of the rainy D.C. area, "Like it wasn't end-of-the-worldly enough."

"Please leave me alone."

"Can't," Jilly laughed, smiling widely, far too perkily, "Phi-Corp needs feedback from medical staff. Why don't you come and talk to us? I mean, Phi-Corp can really do something."

"And make a profit at the same time," he scoffed.

"Well, companies profit by turning situations round to their advantage. But isn't that how every human damn being gets through their day? Come in and say hello. Just once?"

Owen rolled his eyes, knowing that Jack would want the in, all of them, especially Angel, suspicious of the woman since he'd mentioned she worked for Phi-Corp, "Maybe."

"I'll take that as a yes!" she cheered, "Oh, God. I've got to go. Busy, busy. But you have my card," she pointed at him, "You won't regret it. And that's a promise!"

"I regret it even now," he muttered, that woman didn't shut up! He shook his head, grumbling to himself as he made his way back to the car. He'd done as UNIT requested, he'd gone to the panel, he said what he had to, if they didn't listen, not his fault. At least now he'd fulfilled his obligation and could go back to the flat.

~8~

"Ok," Jack called as the four of them entered the flat again to see Owen back, "We do a deep search on this Phi-Corp. I want to peel back security and find everything."

"I can hack the company records," Tosh called, getting on it.

"I got the company history," Ianto agreed, heading for the laptop Jack had been using earlier.

"I can do European operations," Gwen held up a hand.

"I've got a search running of all the hospital that utilize their products," Owen nodded.

"Good team!" Jack cheered, moving to Ianto's side to watch him over the man's shoulder.

Gray looked over at the wall of information, about to add the newest photo evidence to it when he saw Angel standing before it, her arms crossed, seeming sad…the sort of sad you were when you knew no one was looking. He walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder, "Want to take a walk?" he asked her.

She glanced back at the others, knowing that she wouldn't be able to help much with all the computers being used, "Yeah," she nodded.

"Jack we'll be back in a few," Gray called, leading her out of the room as Jack watched.

The Torchwood team exchanged a concerned look, they'd noticed a change in Angel as well. Hopefully Gray would be able to help her a little, like she had helped him.

As soon as they stepped out into the chilled air, Gray took Angel's hand, just walking with her in silence. He knew how much the quiet could help or hurt depending on what you wanted. He'd wait till she was ready to talk. That was one reason Jack kept trying to distract himself with the Miracle Day, urging them all to work on it, because he could tell, whatever was bothering Angel, it wasn't something she was ready to talk about, he'd push her and she'd go quiet and he didn't want that. He thought, he could talk to her when it was over, knowing she'd use the Miracle day as an excuse to focus on the humans before her.

But HIM? He was good with quiet, he liked quiet more than the sounds of screams.

"I'm not gonna ask what's wrong," Gray began as they wandered aimlessly around the block, "I won't ask you to tell me because it's for you to decide what you want to do or say or when," he glanced at her, "I just want you to know, if you ever do want to talk. I'm here."

Angel nodded, "I know."

Gray nodded too and fell silent once more, just giving her what she needed, peace and quiet, no hounding, no sneaky little looks, just...two siblings walking to clear their heads.

"Thanks," Angel added quietly, really appreciating his patience.

He smiled, "You're welcome."

~8~

Oswald Danes grunted as he was thrown out onto the sidewalk before his motel. He'd snuck out earlier, just to go to a local diner, get some food that didn't remind him of prison, when he'd been harassed by two teenagers who had chased him down. Luckily, or what seemed like luck, he'd run into two police officers and begged for help. They'd sent the teens off and offered him a ride back, which he'd gratefully taken, but they'd only brought him to a deserted spot to beat him, before dropping him off at the motel again.

He winced, rolling onto his stomach and coming face-to-face with a pair of bright red high heeled shoes, "Rough night, Oswald?" a woman said.

He grunted as he looked up to see the ginger woman from before, the one with the card, smiling down at him, "Oh, God. What was it? Was it Jill, or...no, let me guess. Jillian?"

"Jilly," she reminded him, "Jilly Kitzinger. Told you, you'd need me. Now, we have a very important meeting to go to, so you can get cleaned up on the plane to DC."

"DC?" he panted, "Why?"

"These are the times that make men, Oswald. So it's your choice. Stay where you are or stand up tall and stride across the skin of the world. Which is it?"

"Well, let's see..." he pushed himself, with a faint cry of pain, to his feet, "If that's a promise of help, you'd better deliver...Miss Jilly Kitzinger."

"I will, sir," she nodded, firm, "I promise."

"I'll hold you to it," he smirked, "Lead on."

~8~

Jack was, oddly, a very happy hungover person. After Angel and Gray had stepped out for the night, Ianto had finished up his search and Jack had proceeded to drag the poor man to the back bedroom with a bottle of vodka in hand, claiming 'mortal man, mortal needs.' The team was infinitely thankful for the thick walls of the establishment.

Which was contrary to the mood Owen was currently feeling as he was forced to attend a presentation by Phi-Corp as an 'in' to see what was going on. He'd called Jilly and agreed to attend, knowing he'd be able to keep a better eye on the woman and let Ianto do what needed to be done. Ianto was the more professional of the bunch, he'd fit in better than them wandering the halls of Phi-Corp.

"We very much appreciate your coming," a man in a suit greeted him as he walked in, "Phi-Corp knows how busy you must be."

"Yeah," he hissed a bit, "Doubt that. Now where's Gilly? I was supposed to meet her."

"Miss _Jilly_ Kitzinger is the organizer," the man smiled, "This is the meeting," he turned and led him down the hall to a lecture room full of doctors and other medical experts, "I think you may know some of these people. Andy Collier from Johns Hopkins. Shelby Lewis, shortlisted for the Lasker Prize…"

"Don't really care," Owen cut in, "Can we just get this over with?"

"We're starting in five," the man nodded.

"Right, and the little boy's room is?"

"Second door on your left," he gestured at the hall.

"Right," he nodded, heading out into the hall, glancing around to make sure no one was watching him as he headed to a side door, opening it to see Ianto there, "You ready?"

"Ready," Ianto pushed into the building.

"Let's go."

"Wait," Ianto grabbed his arm, "Jack says you go back to the meeting, keep Jilly Kitzinger there for as long as you can."

"You're joking," Owen scoffed, he really _didn't_ like that Jenny woman.

"Go," Ianto insisted, giving him a nudge in that direction.

"Are you giving me orders?"

"Jack's rubbed off on me," Ianto shrugged, heading in the opposite direction.

"When was that?" Owen called, laughing, "Last night?"

"Five minute ago," Ianto joked.

-Nice- he saw pop up in his eyes, wearing the recording contact lenses.

"Thanks," he smirked into the reflection on a window as he headed up a set of stairs, only to frown when he saw who was walking down the other side.

~8~

"Oswald Danes?" Tosh frowned as the man came on screen in Ianto's vision.

"What's he doing?" Gwen asked.

"Meeting someone," Angel answered.

"Do we tell him to follow them?" Gray looked at Jack.

"No, no," Jack shook his head, "No way. Let him stay on the mission."

"Was Ianto able to find out anything about Oswald Danes?" Angel asked.

"Nothing special," Gwen remarked, crossing her arms, "Apart from being a monster."

"As far as it seems, he was just executed on the right day," Tosh nodded, "He doesn't seem to be involved."

"He is now," Angel murmured.

Gray frowned and moved over to a laptop, doing his own search on Danes, on the latest interview, "I'm sorry, no," Oswald was saying, Gray glancing up as Jack came to watch over his shoulder, "I have been forgiven. A substantial number of people have forgiven me. I can feel that in my heart, in my guts. Forgiveness, it's like a tide or a storm. It clears the air. I'm very lucky to have been forgiven, and I feel very...I feel very blessed. And I think of forgiveness as a cure."

Tosh reached out and picked up her mobile, calling Owen, "Are you at the meeting yet?"

"Yeah," he huffed, seeming irritated, "It's not a meeting though, it's a presentation."

"Keep the line open," Gwen whispered, "We can hear and record it."

"Got it," Owen suddenly went quiet.

"Hello," another man began to speak, "And thank you for coming. I'm Congressman Patrick Morganthall. Some of you are listening to us from Los Angeles..."

"A congressman?" Tosh frowned.

"Phi-Corp was ready, worldwide."

"If they knew about the miracle," Gray wondered, looking at them all, "Does that mean they caused it?"

"I don't think so," Angel frowned, "I think…it's just one piece of a larger whole…"

"Our modern drug prescription system has served us very well for many decades," the congressman continued, making them all look at the phone, "But times have changed. Times have changed a great deal. The need for drugs is far outstripping the access to the people with the means to prescribe them. Something has got to change. That's why, later today, I will be introducing legislation to make all prescription drugs, all painkillers, antibiotics, almost all medications available without a prescription."

"It'll, what, multiply sales by tenfold?" Gwen frowned.

"Try 1,000," Tosh shook her head.

Gray got up and moved over to them, handing Jack the laptop, not seeing the man catch Angel's eye and gesture her over, "They're really cashing in on this aren't they J…" he looked over, the girls as well.

"Where's Jack?" Tosh blinked.

"Where's Angel?" Gray countered.

"Bloody wonderful," Gwen muttered.

"I'm not just talking about new laws," the congressman spoke in the silence, "I am talking about making an entirely new society. Now, this is a massive enterprise, ladies and gentlemen. But it's up to us. All of you are experts..."

"Jolly just left!" Owen hissed into the phone, making them jump.

"Call her!" Tosh shouted quickly, "Call Jilly Kitzinger."

~8~

Ianto was sitting at Jilly's desk, having made his way with much subtly and finesse, to her office, picking the lock, and getting inside, right where her computer was just sitting open. It wasn't even password protected! So he'd stuck the memory stick in and begun copying all her files…

When a message popped up in his vision.

-Kitzinger coming!-

His eyes widened and he jumped up with the memory stick, looking around, frantic, before rushing over to a large bookshelf, and hiding on the side of it just as the door to the office opened and Jilly entered.

He held his breath and…

Her phone rang.

"Dr. Harper!" Jilly grinned, "Hello."

"It's Owen," Owen spoke, his voice loud enough for Ianto to hear despite him whispering on the other end, "I'm in the screening room and I've got some questions, could you…"

"Of course!" she cheered, "I'll be right there, I'm all too happy to answer any questions you might have," she headed out of the room.

Ianto let out a breath of relief and stepped around the bookshelf, "Dodged a bullet there," he muttered to his reflection as he stepped out of the room after Jilly.

~8~

"That he did," Gwen nodded as they all sat back in their seats, relieved Ianto had made it in and out safe.

But then a phone vibrated.

"Is that…" Gray frowned.

They looked down to see _Friedkin's_ phone vibrating, "They're calling Friedkin," Tosh whispered.

"Or they're calling us," Gwen grabbed it, nodding at Tosh who began recording and tracing the call, "Hello?" she answered, taking time to speak to try and give Tosh more to work with, "Who's there? Who are you? Who am I talking to? Who is this?"

There was a click as the phone call ended.

"Nothing," Tosh huffed, "It hit a vine."

"They could've traced that mobile," Gray frowned.

Gwen sighed, "Right," she grabbed her own phone, "Hello? Colonel Thomas?" she nodded, reaching the D.C. UNIT's head, "We need relocation."

~8~

Angel glanced down the hall of a hotel, Jack beside her, as she grabbed the knob of the door before her, a small spark of gold jumped from her hand to the lock and it clicked.

"Thanks Ang," Jack whispered, kissing the back of her head, "Now, I need you to wait outside for me to deal with him ok?"

She bit her lip, not liking that plan, but something told her she _wouldn't_ want to be in that room with Danes, she got the shivers just seeing him on TV, knowing what he did, she could hardly bear it. She nodded, "Be careful."

He shot her a wink and ducked into he room, Angel glancing down the hall before moving to head out, the mobile Jack had given her to hold (so as not to give away his location) buzzed and she stopped, seeing the text.

Meanwhile in the room, Jack had just stepped into the room when Oswald walked in from the bathroom, "Ok, you ready for me?"

"Yeah..." he said slowly, "Sure."

"I'd apologize for being late, but it wasn't my fault. I was needed elsewhere. This will be going out live, yes? Can you tell me who's interviewing me?"

"Yeah," he floundered, "It's, uh..." before shaking his head, "Sod it!" and whipped out his gun, aiming it at Oswald, who didn't seem all that surprised by the move.

"A man like you was always on his way."

"You met with Phi-Corp today. Why?"

"You'll have to ask them."

His grip on the revolver tightened, "Did they mention the name Jack Harkness? Have you heard that name?"

"Never," Oswald smirked, "Why do you ask...Jack?" he grinned as Jack stiffened, "I figured if you cared that much about the name, it's probably yours."

Jack's jaw tensed, "What about the Angel?"

"And who's that?" Oswald chuckled, "Your car? What are you doing here?"

"I just want you to talk," he pulled a recorder from his pocket and held it up, switching it on.

"What about?"

"I saw you on television, saying you feel _forgiven_ for taking the life of a child. That's a lie! I _know_ that's a lie," he couldn't even begin to describe the nightmares he had of what might have happened to Stephen if Angel hadn't been there to stop them, to help. He woke up at times physically sick, his mind inventing all sorts of horrors about what that wave would have done to the child.

"How do you know that, Jack, with such certainty?"

"Tell the truth! The murder of Susie Cabina, you don't feel sorry at all."

"Oh, the truth is...she flaunted it," he smirked, "Her innocence. Most people, they get hit or whatever, it's hours before the bruises rise up. But they showed right away with her. It was like...I was painting on her. And she looked so beautiful. I thought it couldn't get any better than that. But, oh, Jack, I swear to you, right then, at the end, I felt her life leave...and she left through me. Do you know that feeling? And I relive it every single night, because...that was the best moment of my life."

Jack scoffed, disgusted, now _very_ happy he'd told Angel not to come in with him, the girl would be in tears hearing the man talking of the little girl like that, "Now I understand. You're doing all this 'cos you're searching for one thing. One simple thing. Execution. World without death, so you get to live. And it's killing you."

"Jack, what are you going to do with that recording?"

"Now I'm going to Broadcast Center. Figure I might broadcast it."

"Excellent," Oswald smirked, "If only I didn't have to do this. Boys!" he shouted and two rather large men entered the room, "Take that recording off him."

Jack backed up but was grabbed and the recorder twisted out of his hand, "Argh! Ah!"

"I _did_ visit Phi-Corp and they were kind enough to offer me protection," Oswald told him.

"In exchange for what?" Jack grunted.

"The message," he looked at the men, "Don't hurt him, just...get rid of him. It's nice to meet you, Jack Harkness," he looked at Jack appraisingly, "Well, you can hurt him a little, but not the face. That's how it's done these days."

He laughed as the men dragged Jack out of the room, pulling him into an empty room and proceeding to beat him, punching him in the stomach and sides until he collapsed to the ground. They hefted him up and dragged him out to the front entrance, chucking him out onto the street.

"Jack!" Angel gasped, rushing to his side to help him, glancing around at the people gathered around the front of the hotel, watching monitors of the news playing. She placed her hand on his side, gold seeping into him, hidden by his jacket, healing his few bruises.

"Thanks," he gasped with relief, feeling the pain subside. Who needed painkillers when you had Angel? He swore, her just holding his hand made him feel worlds better.

"Let me be clear," they heard Oswald speak and looked over to see the news was playing his latest interview, "I'm not calling for free drugs, I'm calling for free _access_ to drugs. I want every American to have the power to be able to buy whatever they want and need _without_ a prescription. If that means that some drug companies are going to make a profit, maybe that just ensures they'll take better care of us. Because government has abandoned us. And I'm thinking of companies like Phi-Corp."

"They got to him, didn't they?" Angel whispered to Jack, clutching his hand as she helped him stand, the two of them watching the growing crowd in concern.

"They'd never abandon us, because they need us. If we're talking about medication, it's safe to say that I'm somewhat of an expert. I spent a lot of long years in solitary confinement, dangerous man, companies like Phi-Corp tried to put me on a drug machine but every drug..."

"Yeah," Jack swallowed, "Yeah they did."

"They stick with us. And I'm asking you now to join with me in this great enterprise as we all walk across the fragile skin of this wide world...together. The future is now endless, and it's terrifying. I am offering you my hand to walk on this long journey...together. Walk with me. That's all I ask. Walk with me."

"They're going to walk with him right into hell, aren't they?" Jack shook his head, seeing people starting to clap and jabber about the interview.

Angel could only look around sadly, the Doctor had always used to call her his guardian angel, the thing that guided him out of the dark. And now...she wasn't sure she could do it. How could she help lead the entire Human Race out of hell, when they were willingly walking towards it.

"We need to go," Angel squeezed his hand, turning to lead him back to the car, "Friedkin's contact tried to call him, the location might be compromised, UNIT's relocating us."

"To where?" he frowned.

"California."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, only Angel is there with the team :) I know a bunch of you probably wanted the Doctor there to get whacked by Jack (lol that rhymed) but I sort of hinted that Amy's Choice would affect this story. That one was Angel-Lite, this one is Doctor-Lite :) I think Angel really needed a break and to be around people who remembered her and could help build her back up a little :) I hope any changes I made to this series are believable and understandable. Given that I'm trying to fit 10 episodes into 3 chapters there might be some small scenes that will be skipped over but later summarized, like Oswald at the diner and getting beaten, instead :)
> 
> And I know, Tosh is pregnant too lol :) But Gwen was in Children of Earth and now Owen is cured, I think Anwen just needs a playmate and it will be motivation to get the Miracle sorted out quicker :)
> 
> I know some of you might be concerned about Angel's bargain in the last chapter. I see it more as, she's just going to focus more on the baby, if he remembers FANTASTIC! If not, she'll try to accept it. She's spent a while worrying about why he forgot her and what she can do to get him to remember, that moment was more her realizing she can't keep worrying about it, it's not healthy for her or the baby, and that she needs to focus her energy to making sure that everything's ok if she wants to keep the baby that badly :) She's not giving up per say, he's still her Mate, she still loves him, she still wants him back/to remember her, but for the moment, until she either has or loses the baby, she's going to focus on being healthy and not making herself sick over it for her own sake :) Just to reassure you a little :)


	31. Miracle Day: The Blessing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This episode of Torchwood contains references to a pedophile, mentions of past rape, and past murder. This comes about mostly when Oswald Danes is mentioned and when scenes involving him occur.

The Torchwood team sat in a van, driving through the streets of Venice Beach California, where UNIT had relocated them, it being near the Phi-Corp main base of operations, their main headquarters only ten short miles away, in Los Angeles. They all found it rather amusing that a pharmaceutical company, one meant to help heal people, was located in the 'City of Angels' given that there was one in the very backseat.

They looked back, all of them quiet, the radio broadcasting the news very low due to the sight. Angel had fallen asleep a short while ago, her head resting on Gray's shoulder, his arm around her own shoulders to keep the bumping of the roads to a minimum and let her sleep.

They'd all noticed she was a bit more easy to tire, she'd yawned quite a bit on the plane but had refused to sleep since, she claimed, if the assassin somehow tried to get to the plane, she ought to be awake to help them. Jack had nearly flipped at the thought of her using the Vortex on something as big as a plane to keep it safe as it crashed over America, but Angel had just laughed and told him she was joking…only to mouth 'no she wasn't' when his back was turned, though none of them told him that. They all knew that Angel would do _anything_ to protect the people she loved, a trait she shared with Jack.

The team had to admit, despite their lingering doubts about Gray, the boy had truly taken to his role as an older brother easily. He was always watching out for Angel, being supportive of her in a silent way, they always saw him give her a bit more food off his own plate during meals. Angel seemed to eat all of her food but Gray, after the first attempt had been discovered by the psychic, claimed she was too skinny and put two egg rolls on her plate. It was…sweet. Though they supposed they were still being a bit harsh on the man.

Jack had given 12 children to aliens, condemned them to a life of eternal hell, and done who knew what else in his past and they'd forgiven him. It would be hypocritical to hold what Gray had done over his head for much longer given all he'd done to try and make amends. Tosh had forgiven him, with encouragement from Angel, nearly right after it happened, Jack as well. The others were just…slower to follow.

It was just…most of the things Jack had done hadn't been directed at them, it had been to others or before they'd met him. Gray's actions had nearly killed Tosh and Owen.

Speaking of, the duo was still back in Washington, but based in the UNIT headquarters. Owen was prohibited to leave as one of the few alien experts and medical advisors on the Panels and none of them felt right about leaving him there alone, so Tosh had stayed with him. It was just Jack, Gray, Ianto, and Gwen there with Angel at the moment. They would have been a bit more worried to leave Tosh there alone with Owen, given her pregnancy, but Gwen, and surprisingly Angel, had joined in to say that pregnancy didn't stop you…Gwen even citing a few examples of when her own pregnancy had literally scared their enemies into submission with how mad she'd gone. There was one time she'd actually gotten a Sontaran to cower in fear due to her excessive mood swings scaring the living daylights out of it, _not_ an easy thing to do. And they'd seen that Tosh was just as equipped to handle herself and others, more protective and fast, and scary as all hell when she was angry which was quite a shock given her more quiet and shy nature.

And when she was that angry, only Owen could calm her down, so really, it was in their health interest as well to let Tosh stay with her husband.

Gwen smiled as she looked on Gray and Angel, the girl was paler than they remembered her being, quieter, though she'd gotten a bit better, she'd started smiling more, which was a relief as they could all tell something had had her upset when they first saw her, beyond just losing her companion. It seemed like, despite the Miracle, Angel was doing better, and that was wonderful to think they'd had a hand in that.

Ianto, who had been glancing at Gray and Angel from time to time, finally decided to stop. He'd been, admittedly, a tiny bit jealous of the relationship Gray had formed with Angel, that sibling-like bond. He and Jack were so close, partners really, in every sense of the word, but…Angel hadn't been that comfortable around him. He'd worried that it was his relationship with Jack, he knew it offended some people, but it had been put to rest during the 456 incident, seeing how frantic and terrified Angel had been to think she'd failed to save him had cleared that up that she loved him as much as she did Jack. He'd mentioned it to Gwen, wanting a woman's perspective on why Angel might not do what she did with Gray with him, and Gwen had just laughed and reminded him HE was Jack's.

Which had confused him.

Then Tosh had joined in and explained that he was as good as Angel's brother-in-law and, while that was close, that wasn't exactly a brother. And Angel was just very kind and cautious, she knew how much Jack loved him and, according to some stories she'd shared with Jack that had been told to them during their own relationship troubles, she'd only had experience in one relationship, with the Doctor, a man who got fiercely jealous if anyone even looked at her. She probably just didn't want to make things awkward with Jack by being TOO close to _him_. Which made sense in an odd way. She always showed she cared for him in other ways, asking his opinion, making sure he was ok with things, helping him, protecting him, checking up on him. She'd even called from the TARDIS once or twice just to chat. She just wasn't very physical with him, she hugged him yeah, sometimes linked arms with him or kissed his cheek, but it made sense that she wanted to leave moments like that, like falling asleep on him, to be a moment shared between him and Jack. It was different when your sibling fell asleep on your shoulder as opposed to your significant other. And Angel wasn't technically either. It was sweet of her to think of his relationship with Jack in every interaction she had with him.

"And the Miracle continues," a man was saying on the radio, "With healthcare throughout America now reaching a state of crisis…"

"The courts have been flooded with claims and counterclaims as people adjust to a new form of life," Jack flicked to another station.

"I had a heart attack in October," a man wheezed, "The company replaced me, but I can still work. I'm not like I'm going to die, am I? So, if I have to sue them to get my job back, then I will."

"Who is there to speak for the living when the White House is silent," another woman spoke, "The Vatican is silent, the scientists are silent? Well, I am not…"

"In business news," and yet another station, "Pharmaceutical companies are predicting record profits. Phi-Corp has pledged a payback scheme in local communities around its Los Angeles headquarters…"

"Jack," Gwen grabbed his hand as he went to poke another button, "Pick one or turn it off."

"Actually, just turn it off," Ianto requested, it was getting repetitive and frankly irritating to hear people constantly talk about the Miracle with no new information given, not that they'd have any way to obtain the new information.

Jack laughed and flicked a switch, turning it off as they pulled up to a quaint beach house right on the shore.

"Oh that is gorgeous," Gwen murmured, staring at the little house. For once it didn't seem like they were going to end up in some stinking, dirty pit, they actually had a _house_ with walls and lights and hot water. Perhaps they should team up with UNIT more often.

Jack shut the car off and turned around, all of them seeing his regretful look as he stared at Angel, all of them knowing he didn't want to have to wake her up.

"I got it Jack," Gray told him, reaching out to gently shake Angel awake, "Angie…time to wake up…"

Angel blinked a bit as she came around, hiding a yawn behind her mouth, "Sorry," she winced, offering them an apologetic smile.

"Don't be," Gray waved it off.

"When was the last time you slept?" Ianto frowned at her, worried, he'd never seen her that tired before.

"Not long ago," she shrugged, not giving a definite answer.

Because she honestly didn't know.

She hadn't had a solid night's sleep in…ages. Either she'd wake up from that nightmare of everyone forgetting her, or she'd just be unable to fall asleep, or her thoughts would get away from her, or she just…couldn't get comfortable. She'd gotten so used to falling asleep in the Doctor's arms that, to sleep without him, was difficult. She almost found herself hoping the insomnia he'd admitted to as well might be similar to that, that he just…couldn't sleep without her there.

"Time Lords don't need as much sleep as humans," she added.

"That doesn't mean you should not get any," Gwen reached out to put a hand on Angel's arm.

Angel looked down at it, blinking a moment, before she started to smile. They were concerned about her, worried, they… _cared_ about her. As terrible as it was, she'd…almost forgotten what that felt like, to have someone genuinely worry for you. Rory had, Rory had worried and fussed over her so much, but…Rory was gone now.

She missed Rory.

"Whenever you feel tired Angel," Jack said, using her full name and not his nicknames, making her look at him, "You take a nap, understood?"

She smiled and nodded, "Aye aye Captain."

"Watch it," he pointed at her jokingly.

"Come on," Gray nodded at the doors, moving to get out, "2,700 miles, one plane ride, and a car…I need a stretch."

They all agreed wholeheartedly to that, clambering out of the car to look around the beach. It was lovely, warm and sunny with a light breeze.

"Wow, look at that horizon!" Gwen breathed, staring out at the ocean, "We've reached the edge of America!" she laughed.

"Decades since I saw the Pacific," Jack murmured, putting an arm around Ianto's waist, "Must be about…70 years."

"I came here with John," Gray told them, thinking of all the places on Earth and in the Universe that John had shown him, staying true to his word to Angel to show him the wonders of the Universe.

"I've never seen it before," Angel remarked, thoughtful.

"You're kidding!" Gwen looked at her, even she'd been to California once.

Angel just shrugged.

"Where's Phi-Corp from here?" Ianto asked, glancing around, he'd come there three times with other Torchwood establishments, on missions though.

"Ten miles that way," Gray pointed down a road, "It's another city. Phi-Corp headquarters in Los Angeles, this is Venice."

"We need to get everything set up," Jack determined, turning to lead them back to the car to get their equipment, the items Tosh _let_ them take from her, she _really_ loved her computers.

They made quick work of it, only needing two trips each to get everything out of the car and into the house.

Jack paused though when he noticed that Angel stopped and was staring at a wall of posters that said 'Dead is Dead' on them, a frown on her face.

"Angie?" he walked over to her, glancing between her and the posters, knowing that look, "Everything ok?"

"What is that?" she asked him, glancing at him, "'Dead is Dead?'"

"Let's find out," he remarked, shifting the box in his hands to under his arm and pulling out his mobile, "Tosh," he smiled.

"Jack!" Tosh shouted as he put her on speaker, the others coming out of the house to see what was keeping them, "Are you alright, did you make it there ok?"

"We just got in yeah," he nodded, "Listen, we're not set up yet and we need you to run a search on the slogan, 'Dead is Dead' and…"

"Owen's been complaining about that," Tosh cut in, "It's the latest campaign."

"As if Oswald Danes wasn't bad enough," they heard Owen mutter in the background.

"Hush," Tosh called to him, before getting back to them, "This one is founded by an Ellis Hartley Monroe."

"And who's she when she's at home?" Gwen asked.

"A small-town mayor trying to make a name for herself," Owen answered.

"Owen!" Tosh huffed, "Ellis Hartley Monroe started the 'Dead is Dead' campaign because she thinks we should treat people who _should_ have died as if they're already dead."

"She's got a point," Owen grumbled, seeming frustrated with having to admit he agreed with her.

"Anyway," Tosh got them back to point, "Now that you're there I can use that address to order that spare server."

"Then we start in on Phi-Corp," Jack grinned.

"But first thing we've got to do is lift out the security profile…"

"It's Rhys," Angel cut in quietly.

"What?" Jack looked at her, but then Gwen's phone began to ring.

She winced, "I've got to take this. Sorry," she got up and rushed for the door, "Um, yeah. I...won't be a moment," she smiled and stepped outside, smiling, "Hello."

"How's everything?" Rhys asked.

"Oh, you know what Torchwood's like. It's terrible. I mean, we're living in this...shed thing," she smirked back at the beach house, "And there's no electricity, there's no water. It's dark and cold and damp…"

"I thought it was boiling hot in Los Angeles all year round," Rhys remarked.

"Well, they lied, Rhys."

"What's that noise?" he asked, hearing a group of skaters pass her, "Is that people?"

"Yeah," she said slowly, "Street gangs."

And then a seagull squawked above her.

"Was that a seagull?"

"Er...it's a woman, er...on the rampage. A mad woman. Anyway, so how's my little girl?"

"Don't call me that, Gwen!"

"You're very funny. Do I get to say hello?"

"No! It took me two hours to get her to sleep," she nodded, having forgot the time difference for a moment, while it was daylight here, it was night there, "She was fretting like mad. I'm not waking her, so tough."

She sighed, "I'm not on holiday, Rhys. I'm out here working."

"Still, tough. So, what's happening with Phi-Corp, then?"

"Uh, yeah, things. Listen, there's one thing you've _got_ to sort out, ok, and that's my dad. They keep saying the hospitals are full of MRSA, so can you get him out?"

"That's impossible, honestly, now. They said on the news no one's allowed to move. But he's safe enough, Gwen."

"I have never felt so far away," she murmured, "Look, I just don't trust the hospitals, Rhys. There must be something you can do," she looked down as her phone beeped, "Look, I've got to go, ok? I'm busy. They really need me. We're on a mission. Er, just get my dad out, Rhys, ok? I'll phone you tonight."

"It's already tonight," he reminded her, before sighing, "Bye."

"Bye," she whispered, ending the call and heading back into the house…

Not even noticing a man with a camera snapping pictures of her, "Torchwood located," he called into a phone.

~8~

"Everything ok Gwen?" Angel asked as Gwen stepped back in.

"You were right, it was Rhys," she smiled apologetically at them, "Sorry."

"We've all got family," Ianto waved her off, thinking about his niece and nephew and his sister, Jack about his daughter and grandson, "The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can see them."

"Ok," she nodded, "Where are we up to Tosh?" she looked at the phone lying on the table.

"I'm going to try to lift out the security protocols on Jilly Kitzinger's files," Tosh said.

"There is a lot of..." they looked over, hearing Oswald Danes speaking to see Angel had the remote for the TV in her hand and had turned the TV on to his latest interview.

"A bit obsessed with this bastard are you?" Gwen frowned, it was…so unlike Angel to be focused on a rapist or murderer.

"There's something _wrong_ ," Angel sighed, rubbing her head, "He's involved, there's something…more to it."

Jack nodded, "I'll put a permanent trace on him so we always know where he is."

"Thanks Jack," she smiled.

"Did we find anything more on Kitzinger Owen?" Gray called, knowing Tosh and Owen had been working on that while they were on the way over.

"She's freelance," Owen answered, "Working with Phi-Corp for six months. She's not connected. She just happened to be at the right place at the right time."

"Just like Oswald," Ianto remarked.

"So what's happened to the world is invisible," Jack summed it up for them, "But, quite by chance, Oswald's found himself right at the heart of it. George Eliot wrote this chapter in _Middlemarch_. She said that if you take a piece of metal with random scratches all over it and hold a flame up to the metal, the scratches look like they're forming patterns, circling around the light. And that's Oswald. He's blazing away, and patterns are starting to revolve around him. All we have to do is keep watching."

They all looked at the TV again, watching Oswald speaking, frowns on their faces.

~8~

Oswald Danes wandered around his new hotel room, much nicer than the motels he'd been living in, all courtesy of Phi-Corp. He looked at the plush bed, felt the fuzzy robes, and enjoyed opening the sodas in his mini-fridge, listening to the fizz. He'd just sat down in a chair when there was a knock on the door and Jilly came striding in.

"Change of plans," she sighed, "Got some statistics here. You'll need to memorize them," she handed him a paper, "The White House is planning some sort of rally in Los Angeles. We might have to move by the end of the week. But the good news is, Phi-Corp has asked me to stay at your side full-time. Evidently someone over there believes you're important. Who am I to argue?" she added the last part just a touch bitterly.

"Glorious," he smirked, standing, "I'll bet that's killing you, Miss Kitzinger, because you can't stand the sight of me."

"No, I can't," she agreed, "No, sir, not at all. But it is not my job to like you. I will find your coffee, I will accompany you to the studio, recommend whether Diane Sawyer is better than Piers Morgan. All that and more, but between me and you, it's your hands," she glanced at them and back up immediately, "I can't look at your hands without thinking about what they did."

"You ever wonder why anyone considers me important?" Oswald eyed her.

"I'm sure someone's got a reason."

"Wouldn't you like to know what it is?"

"Very much so."

"How much do you know about our masters at Phi-Corp?" he moved to sit on the edge of his bed, "Because I did a little searching of my own last night. It's been a long, _long_ time since I was allowed online. I tried to find out who's above Phi-Corp, who owns them, and the strangest thing happened. The information just scattered away. All sorts of names and tangents and diversions, but nothing tangible. That's when I recognized the pattern, because I've had _a lot_ of experience perfecting how to hide myself online. And suddenly, I'm looking at someone else doing the same, but on a massive scale. Worldwide. I wonder why," he smirked, getting up, "Time to go."

"What for?" she frowned as he headed for the door.

"Central News, 3.30. Isn't that right?"

"If you would let me finish, they cancelled you. Apparently they booked someone else."

He frowned, "Who did they get?"

"Ellis Hartley Monroe, the darling of the 'Tea Party,'" she turned and flicked on a TV, to the news, showing him an older blonde woman giving an interview, "She's been looped on Channel 55 all day long, and she's radical."

"I think someone's got to say it," the woman nodded, "'Dead is dead.' We are surrounded by people who should have died. I'm sorry for them, yes, but these people fill me with terror. Am I the only one brave enough to say it? They should have perished. I'm sorry, but they should. And by persisting, they are draining the resources of healthy, living citizens. Now, I'm nobody special, but I'm a mother and a voter and an American, and I'd like to think that that means something. This is what I want."

"Looks like you've got a rival," Jilly smirked.

"The 'Dead is Dead' campaign asks..."

"You'd better think of a line, or you'll be yesterday's news."

"…and taken to a place that's safe, and I mean safe for the rest of us. The 'Dead is Dead' campaign asks that these citizens be removed from society and taken to a place that's safe."

Oswald glared at the woman as he watched her speaking. Well, this was a bit of a problem, wasn't it?

~8~

Angel was curled up on the sofa, a cup of tea in her hand as she watched a blonde woman giving an interview about the 'Dead is Dead' campaign, "...don't speak ill of the dead...because dead is dead, and sometimes, segregation is vital and necessary, because these living deceased should _not_ have equal rights. No, sir. They should be removed. They should be contained. And then they should wait. Because I believe their passage to the afterlife has but paused. And when this miracle ends, death will find them. Their time will come and they will die."

"Everything ok?" Jack asked, plopping down on the sofa beside her, startling her, not an easy thing to do being psychic.

"Fine," she nodded, clearing her throat, trying to shake of the growing pit in her stomach as she listened to the woman, unable to help but feel like something bad would happen to her, "We ready?" she glanced at a large crate that had the spare server Tosh had sent.

"Yup," he nodded as the team gathered around them, Tosh and Owen with them via webcam on a laptop on the table, "You're on Tosh."

She nodded on the screen and began to type, information appearing on the large TV screen on the wall for them to see the plans, "There's over 100 dedicated servers identical to that one inside the Phi-Corp building, all containing corporate data. But according to Jilly Kitzinger's information, number 113 is a _secure_ server, accessible by _only_ the highest corporate brass."

"That's our target then?" Gray came to lean on the back of the sofa, his arms crossed, resting his chin on Angel's head, making her laugh, which made the rest of them grin to hear.

"Yeah, but when Phi-Corp says secure," Owen added, "They mean _secure_."

"I have _never_ seen firewalls like this before," Tosh muttered, "And I'd love the chance to crack it, but we don't have the time even with all the Torchwood software at our disposal. Jack, I think our only option is to steal number 113, to physically take it, and cover our tracks by leaving a duplicate in its place."

"Which is empty," Gwen frowned.

"So, we damage it," Jack shrugged.

"Fire damage would be best," Ianto nodded, "Phi-Corp will think the information's lost, not stolen, and they won't overreact."

Angel reached out and handed Gwen her phone that was lying on the arm of the sofa a moment before it rang, "Oh, sorry," Gwen turned it off, "It's off."

"So, how are we going to get inside?" Gray looked at them, he hadn't done much infiltration with Torchwood since coming on, mostly just fighting aliens.

"This is the IT Center where the servers are housed," Tosh brought up a layout of the building, "Floor 33, maximum security, completely enclosed. We need to gain access, but it's restricted, with some rather serious biometrics. Only one man can gain total access. The man who designed it Nicolas Frumkin," she brought up another image of an Asian man in a suit.

"What kind of biometrics?" Ianto asked, "I mean, what level?"

"Every entry needs voice print, palm print, iris recognition, by him and him alone."

"Ok," Jack nodded, grinning, "Then I know _exactly_ what we need to do."

~8~

Jack and Gwen were walking through a park, hand-in-hand, dressed in more…easygoing fashions, "Oh, hey!" Jack laughed as they came upon a man and woman, Mr. Frumkin and his wife, pushing their baby along.

"Oh, my gosh," Gwen put on a false American accent, sounding far too peppy, "Look at her! She is a beauty."

"Yeah."

"Oh! Hey, baby!" she tickled the little girl's stomach.

"I swear we've met before," Jack remarked to the man, "You're, um..."

"I'm Nicolas," he introduced.

"That's right! Nicolas Jackson, isn't it?"

"No, Nicolas Frumkin," he stated.

~8~

Tosh smirked, recording that all the way across the country.

~8~

"Yeah, yeah," Jack held out a hand to shake his, "My name's John Smith."

~8~

Gray and Ianto glanced at each other in concern as Angel's smile at Gwen's funny accent faded at those words, the three of them watching the feed from the contacts Jack was wearing along with Tosh and Owen.

~8~

"Your baby is just so amazing!" Gwen gushed, "She is just awesome! She's a keeper, isn't she? Aww," she handed Nicolas a stainless steel water flask, "Do you mind holding that for me? Thank you," she leaned in and tickled the baby with both hands, "Look at you! Wow. I'll take that off you," Gwen took the flask back by the top.

"Doesn't she remind you of our little girl?" Jack nudged Gwen.

"Oh, you should see her!" Gwen beamed, pulling out her phone to show them pictures of Anwen.

"We'd better be moving along," Nicholas tried to shake his head, "It's lunch hour, so..."

"Oh, there she is!" Jack laughed as she found her, holding up the phone to them.

"Her name is Sally Anne Louise Matilda...Jane," Gwen smiled, "We couldn't choose!"

"No!"

"She's beautiful," Nicolas nodded, uncomfortable.

"Thank you," Gwen laughed, before thrusting the phone in his face, right at his eye, "Look at her little face!"

~8~

"Got it," Tosh beamed.

"You're a genius," Owen kissed her temple.

"Yes I am," Tosh smiled, capturing the image of the man's iris using Gwen's phone.

~8~

"So, it was awesome meeting you," Gwen pulled the phone away, "Just super good."

"Yeah, you too," the man shied away from them, disturbed.

"See you around!" Jack cheered.

"Sure thing, hot diggity!" Gwen smiled as they walked off.

"See you later. Take care," he took her hand and led her off, "You are _so_ _never_ doing that accent again."

"I am mortified," she whispered, looking it too, her own accent back, "I'm absolutely mortified!"

~8~

Nicolas Frumkin sighed to himself as he made his way to his car that night after a long day at work. He got in and had just started it up...when he someone grabbed him from behind and held a knife to his throat, the same man that had been watching Gwen.

"What do you want?" Nicolas gasped.

"What's your name, sir?" he held up a recorder.

"I'll give you money!"

"I just need your name. Nice and clear, if you could."

"Frumkin," he gasped, "Nicolas Frumkin."

"There's an organization, Mr. Frumkin, called Torchwood," the man pulled the recorder away, but the knife remained, "Now, I'm only telling you this so you know who's to blame. Torchwood is about to access your secure site, which means I also need access using your biometrics."

"I can tell you how to get in," Nicolas pleaded, "There's a code."

"No, there's not."

"There is. I swear to you, there's a code that you can use to..."

"Shh, shh, shh," he quieted the frantic man, "I'm afraid I studied all the specifications. The protocol's quite clear. I need the biometrics of poor Nicolas Frumkin. Which means, firstly, your voice. Consider that done. And then..."

"Please," Nicolas gasped, knowing what the man was going to do next, what he'd need, "Please don't. Please!"

"It's your system, which means it's your fault. Because the next thing I need is the palm of your hand, and then one of your eyes, but just _one_."

"No!" he started to struggle.

"Don't worry," the man gave a dark chuckle, "No one dies!" and pulled him into the back seat, Nicolas screaming as the needed parts were taken…

~8~

The next day, Torchwood was ready to take on the Phi-Corp server.

"Tosh?" Ianto called on the webcam, sitting at a computer of his own in the beach house, in charge of recording everything Gwen saw while Tosh worked at controlling the phones and security for the building, "Everything online?"

"Mhmm," she nodded, "UNIT's got a good signal."

"Right," Owen grinned, behind her, pulling out his phone, "Let's do it then," and called Jack, "We're ready."

"On it," Jack replied.

~8~

Gwen, dressed in a lovely skirted suit, walked towards the Phi-Corp building, Angel acting as her assistant, following her, with a pad of paper in her hand, "Ok," she stopped to 'check' her reflection, "Here we go."

-Good luck- she saw Tosh write.

"Good luck," she laughed, heading in with Angel.

Jack had railed to high heaven that his little sister wasn't going anywhere near the Phi-Corp headquarters when they'd been debating who should go where and if they should take partners. It had been unanimous that Gwen go in and Jack go in, Angel had insisted that partners be taken so that his and Gwen's backs would be watched. The team seemed to agree...until she'd offered to go with Gwen. Gray had taken her side in the matter, bringing up the argument that it would be better to have the psychic inside with them to warn them of things, that she'd be able to better sense it there than outside somewhere. That and neither he nor Angel had any idea how to really use the software, which Ianto knew how to use. Jack had, begrudgingly agreed to that.

"Hi," Gwen walked up to the front desk, smiling charmingly at the man behind it.

"Can I help you?" he eyed the two of them.

"Yes, I'm here for the training sessions on…" she looked at Angel.

"Floor 21," Angel quickly checked the blank notepad in her hand.

"Your name?" the man asked.

"Yvonne Pallister," Gwen replied, handing him a fake ID, "International Sales."

"Only problem is, I don't see any training going on today," he looked at a record on the computer beside him.

"Ms. Pallister received an e-mail last night," Angel said quickly, "From a Lorraine in Human Resources."

The man nodded, picking up a phone, "I'll call them."

"Ok," Gwen nodded.

"Phi-Corp Human Resources," they could hear Tosh answer, having rerouted the phone lines, putting on a false American accent as well, "This is Lorraine. How may I help you?"

"Yeah, I have a Yvonne Pallister down here," the man began, "She says there's some kind of training…"

"Yes. Send her right up. Floor 21."

"Ok," he sighed, hanging up and handing Gwen back her ID, "Floor 21. Go on up."

"Thank you," Gwen nodded, handing Angel the ID as they headed for the lift, "Brilliant job," Gwen whispered to Angel as the doors closed.

Angel smiled, "Thanks. That's a first though."

"What, sneaking in somewhere?" she found that hard to believe given the Doctor's habits.

"The first time without using psychic paper," she laughed.

 _That_ made more sense.

~8~

Jack slowly pulled a large delivery truck into the parking area below the Phi-Corp building, him and Gray getting out and walking to the back to unload their 'delivery.'

"Hold up, hold up!" a security guard ran over as Gray opened the back of the truck, Jack pulling on some gloves, "Who are you?"

"Delivery," Gray gestured at the truck.

"I don't have anything on my schedule," the man shook his head.

"It says Human Resources," Jack looked at a clipboard in his hand.

The man gave them a suspicious look and gestured for them to wait as he headed to a phone in his office.

"Human Resources," Ianto answered, using a false American accent as well so as not to arouse suspicion.

"Yeah…I got a delivery here?"

"Right, yes, our document shredder broke down. We had to rush a new one. Send it up."

"Sure thing," he nodded, hanging up and returning to Jack and Gray who hadn't stopped unloading, "Go on up," he pointed to the lift, watching as the two men tried to wheel the heavy-looking crate off, "Need some help?"

"No, we're good," Jack winked at him as they stepped into the lift, smirking at each other as the doors closed.

~8~

Angel led Gwen right to the lift on Floor 33, waiting till the doors opened and Gray and Jack stepped out. While Human Resources was located on Floor 21, the servers were on Floor 33, and that's where they were going.

"Hello, handsome," Gwen called, startling them which made Angel laugh, "Love the uniform."

"Ditto," Jack eyed them in their suits, Angel in pants though, winking at them.

"Come on," Gray pushed the crate off.

"Oh, hold on," Gwen winced, bracing herself against the wall to pull her shoes off, "Whoever wears heels to work is heroic. Why do women put up with these things?"

"The Fire Department would get here in 12 minutes," Angel said as she and Gwen followed the men.

Jack nodded, "When they arrive, Tosh," he called, wearing an earpiece to hear her and Ianto, "You direct them to the 14th floor. That should buy us another…"

"Five minutes," Angel answered.

Jack grinned, "Brilliant," and winked at her, making her smile, "Before they check other floors."

Gray paused below a fire sprinkler and grabbed a piece of paper and a lighter, burning the paper before blowing it out, holding the smoking end of it up to the sprinkles, setting off the alarms.

"Fire on the 14th," Tosh reported, tapping away at her keyboard.

"Please exit the building," the automated voice began to call to the employees who slowly began to file out, calm, thinking it a drill.

They waited till the floor had cleared and quickly made their way down them, to the server room, "Please state your full name," the computer system stated as Gwen stepped before it.

"Nicolas Frumkin," Jack pressed his Vortex Manipulator, playing the recording they'd taken in the park.

"Please place your right hand on the sensors as indicated."

Gray stepped up with a white latex glove on, the palm print from the steel water flask Nicolas had taken from Gwen printed across it.

"Please look closely at the circle below."

Gwen leaned in, her eyes, with the Torchwood contacts in, wide open.

"Iris in five," Ianto called to Jack, and they knew he was sending an image of Nicholas's iris to the contacts.

"Access granted," came a moment later.

"I never thought that would work," Gwen breathed.

Angel smiled, "I did."

"Psychic," Jack muttered playfully.

"Captain," Angel joked back.

"Welcome back, Nicolas," the computer hissed and the door opened.

"You're in," Ianto told them.

"Time to get to work," Jack nodded, leading them in.

"Server 113…" Gray murmured as they looked through the rows of servers.

"This way," Angel called, leading them at a hurried pace to the second to last row, right to the server.

"Could we have used her," Owen remarked to Jack, who smiled, as he and Gray got to work opening the crate while Angel and Gwen pulled the plugs out of the servers.

"Hey Angie," Jack looked at her, "Every consider becoming a member of Torchwood?"

She blinked and looked at him, "I thought I already was one."

The three of them smiled, knowing Ianto, Tosh, and Owen were smiling as well, "That you are," Gwen nodded, giving her a quick sideways hug, when her phone beeped.

"I've got this Gwen," Angel smiled at her, pulling the rest of the plugs out while Gwen grabbed her phone, standing to keep a lookout for them down the aisle.

"Yeah," Gwen answered, "Anwen alright?"

"She's fine," Rhys answered, "She's at home. I know you're busy. I was just phoning about your dad."

"Is he ok?" she turned to watch the 'Harknesses' at work, smiling at how they were moving. Angel was pulling the plugs out, moving from one server component to the next as Gray pulled the server out, moving to put it in their storage crate at the same time Jack pulled one of the already damaged decoys out and put it back into the real server, the men reversing their positions, all of them working in complete tandem.

"He's fine. Same as ever, no change. I just saw him, he sends his love. But I did what you said and made a fuss about getting him moved."

"We're a bit busy, sweetheart. Just tell me, can you get him out of there?"

"Yes, I can. Shall I go ahead?"

"Oh, I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. Just do it and let me know what happens," she glanced at the back door and then the trio, seeing them finishing up, Angel working on reconnecting the wires, "Oh, and give Anwen a big kiss. Ok? Bye," she ended the call and ran to help Angel, getting instructions from Ianto and Tosh on the contacts.

"Good luck," Jack whispered to them as he and Gray headed out with the server.

"Ok, go!" Gwen urged them.

-Reattach 655 to 321- Gwen saw, "655 to 321," she told Angel, taking -322 to 340- for herself.

"322," she murmured, nodding at Angel, "One more. 324. Done!" she beamed, turning to smile at Angel...

Only to see a man behind her with a gun.

~8~

Jack and Gray had just reached the underground parking area, when they stopped dead, opening the back of the truck to see the security guard lying inside it, a rope around his neck, still alive though clearly having been strangled. And they knew what that meant, someone had come after them.

"The assassin!" Gray gasped, all of them had known there was likely more than one.

"Angel!" Jack grabbed his arm, "Gwen!"

And they ran off to the lift, needing to get back to them.

~8~

"An…" Gwen tried to warn her.

But before she could even get the word out of her mouth, Angel had turned, throwing out her hand, a swirl of gold flashing out like a protective wall that pushed against the man and sent him flying backwards into the wall.

Angel gasped, staring wide-eyed at the man's prone form, knowing he wasn't dead, but just knocked out. She hadn't meant to do that, she'd just been trying to bring up the wall to protect them from the bullets and to maybe knock the man back long enough for Gwen to get the gun off him. It seemed she'd put a bit more force into it but she'd never done that before. She looked at Gwen, "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I just…I saw him coming and…he had a gun and he was going to hurt you and…"

Gwen just laughed and hugged her, "We are SO keeping you when this is over," she whispered to Angel. Angel blinked, stiffening in her arms which made Gwen pull away, "What is it?" she frowned, seeing Angel's eyes filled with tears as she looked at her, startled.

"You…you want _me_?" she murmured.

Gwen nodded, "Course we do!" she told the girl, squeezing her shoulders, "You wouldn't believe how often Jack goes on about you, how much we all think about you. We miss you Angel. We've only met you a few times but…we miss you. You don't come round often enough."

"That's the Doctor's fault," she murmured, but started to smile, it wouldn't be for much longer, no, she was determined to make even more of an effort than just phone calls. No…she was going to do better at keeping in their lives, like they were always in hers.

-What the hell just happened?-

Came up before Gwen's eyes, she rolled them, knowing THAT was Owen.

"Angel!" Jack shouted as he and Gray burst into the room, "Gwen!"

"What happened?" Gray asked, seeing the man, unintentionally mimicking Owen.

"He tried to sneak up on a psychic is what," Gwen laughed.

Jack looked at Angel and quickly made her way to his side, hugging her tightly as Gwen and Gray got their would-be assassin all taken care of.

~8~

The assassin's eyes fluttered as he slowly came around to find himself tied up, on the ground, against the wall of the server room, his hands bound behind him. He struggled, trying to free himself…

"The more you struggle the tighter the ropes get," Gray warned him, "A little trick I picked up."

He looked up to see Gray standing before him, his arms crossed, Jack beside him with his arm around Angel who was fidgeting and biting her lip, Gwen glaring at him with her hands on her hips.

"Who the hell are you?" Gwen demanded.

"Names aren't important right now," the assassin countered.

-Wonderful, he's cryptic- she saw from Tosh.

"What do you want?" Jack asked.

"You dead, Jack," Owen commented over the earpiece, "Don't need to be Angel to know that."

Jack rolled is eyes, "You want me dead, then why am I still alive?"

The man's jaw tensed, "You have…protection, apparently," his gaze flickered to Angel, Jack tensing and pulling her closer, "Now _that_ is interesting, last I heard…you hadn't seen her in centuries."

Jack frowned at how they knew that, there was only one time he hadn't seen her in a century, but he'd told quite a few people about her and the Doctor, vaguely.

"The Angel," the assassin sneered, making them stiffen at how he knew of her, "Fitting isn't it, with Miracle Day and all. It's hardly been advantageous for those in my line of work, the day the killing stopped. So I can't tell you, Jack," he turned his attention back to the man, "How wonderful it is, how truly wonderful it is, to meet somebody who's mortal. When I was offered this task, I took it immediately. It's my Holy Grail."

"If he's the only one that can die then it's in your interest to keep him alive," Gray countered.

"Well it's not like he can kill him at the moment," Gwen remarked, eyeing the restraints.

"Why are you after Jack?" Angel frowned.

"I've been paid to eradicate him, but that only makes me wonder why. What makes you so different?"

"I don't know," Jack shook his head.

"And yet you're the only one left, the only true human."

"If I knew, I would tell you. I'm trying to find out the same thing myself."

-Ianto says, ask who's employing him- Gwen saw on the contacts.

"Who employs you?" she nodded.

But the man just kept focused on Jack, "Don't you have any idea, Jack? They told me it was a very long time ago. Don't you remember?"

"Who?" Gwen repeated.

The man smirked at Jack though, "What, your psychic sister can't work it out either?"

"Who told you that?" Jack glared at him.

"You're very special to them, Jack. They trust me enough to tell me that. But I hear rumors...of miracles yet to come, of a new society being forged here on Earth, and I'd like to guarantee my place. And to do that, I need leverage. So, tell me...what did you give them so long ago?"

"When?" Gray looked at his brother who seemed confused.

"Tell us who's employing you," Gwen demanded.

The man just laughed, "You'll never stop them, for this...is who they certainly are. They are everywhere. They are always. They are no one. They have been waiting for such a long time. Searching the world...for a specific geography."

"What the hell does that mean?" Jack shook his head.

"That means that they've found it. And they've made it magnificent."

"Who _are_ they?!"

"As though I would tell you," he started squirming.

Angel's eyes flew wide, "It's a bomb!"

Jack looked at her a moment before running forward and grabbing the man, unzipping the front of his jacket to see there was, in deed, a bomb strapped to him.

How had they missed that?!

"Bye bye Jackie boy," the man laughed.

"Go!" Jack shouted, ushering them out of the room, "Go! Go!"

They fled, running down the hall as fast as they could, _just_ making it to the other end when the explosion nearly knocked them to their feet. It was a very concentrated blast, small enough to destroy the room, a few rooms probably, and all those in it (under normal circumstance at least), but not enough to take the whole building out, they doubted Phi-Corp, for who else would know about them and their mission, would risk destroying their own headquarters.

"Everyone ok?" Jack looked around, seeing Angel leaning against the wall where she'd fallen into it.

"Fine," Gwen nodded as Gray helped her up.

"Angie?"

"I'm ok," she breathed, panting as she moved to rest her back to the wall, taking only one brief moment to rest a hand on her stomach, to the others, appearing as though she were just panting, but she let out a breath of relief, the baby was ok.

~8~

"It's such an unfortunate phrase," Oswald Danes gave another interview, the man himself and Jilly standing in the news room, watching it with smirks, "'Dead is dead.' It's coarse. I know, as a survivor, it's hurtful. The last thing that we need right now is a campaign that's going to empower the mob."

"The words of Oswald Danes are quickly becoming a worldwide phenomena," a reporter began.

"Today the story of Danes and the abandoned child truly went viral," another TV played a different station, the same story being played in Japan and Spain.

"As the White House stays silent, we ask is Oswald Danes now becoming the voice of the people? Is he the one true representative of this miracle age?"

"You are trending like never before, you clever bastard," Jilly commented as they turned to leave the building, having other places to get to.

"You make it all sound planned," he laughed, "I was just trying to help those unfortunate souls."

"Well, it's working. Guess what they're calling you in France. The Sainted Danes."

"That's almost blasphemous."

"And now you're a definite for the Miracle Rally. Flights are booked to Los Angeles. They want you to speak from the stage, and guess who you're replacing?"

"Ellis Hartley Monroe?" he started to grin.

"Ellis Hartley Monroe!" she nodded, cheering, "She must be livid!"

As though hearing her, the last TV they passed showed another reporter bringing up word of the woman, "We contacted the office of Ellis Hartley Monroe, asking for a response, but they told us Mrs. Monroe will not be making any statements for the foreseeable future."

They smirked and left the building, getting into the limo waiting for them, they had a flight to catch.

~8~

In the back seat of a car, one Ellis Hartley Monroe slowly woke. She'd been at a hospital, where all the overflow patients had been taken, speaking about her 'Dead is Dead' campaign when Oswald Danes had showed up. The man had had the nerve to walk right into the disease filled hospital in nothing more than a paper mask which he removed, giving a speech about how the ill shouldn't be overlooked, how 'Life is Life' and how they should be treated as still alive and not waiting to die.

It had stolen her thunder and she found herself storming off to her car as the press went wild for him. She'd just taken a sip of her coffee and the next thing she knew, she was waking up in her car in…in what looked like a junkyard.

"Mrs. Monroe?" a voice called and she looked at the radio where a triangle was spinning slowly around on the screen of her GPS, "We'd like to apologize. We're really very, _very_ sorry about this. Indeed, we'd like to imagine if time and tides had flown in a different way we could have almost been friends."

She gasped as the car jolted.

"I hope that's some consolation at the end. The truth of it is, we liked your message Mrs. Monroe. We liked your style. But we already have Oswald Danes. We don't need another."

She let out a cry, starting to pound on the windows as her car was lifted into the air by a crane.

"And certain aspects of your strategy were revealing our hand just a little too soon. And we have been planning this so carefully for such a long time."

Her eyes widened as she saw her car being lowered into one of the crushing machines.

"Because we are everywhere. We are always. We are no one. And soon, the Families will rise."

She screamed as the radio cut off, her car crushed around her…with her still in it…unable to die.

~8~

"Anything yet Tosh?" Jack asked as he paced around the beach house, Tosh and Owen on the main screen, on the webcam as Tosh tried to crack the server information.

Tosh shook her head, "It's going to take days, weeks even with UNIT and Torchwood's software," she sighed, "But I'm rushing through a primary sift for basic patterns."

"Jack," Gray began, "Have you thought anymore about it? That guy said it was someone you knew."

"Not that easy when you've lived thousands of years," Jack remarked.

"It is for me," Angel shrugged, "I mean, I'm not 1,000 yet, but…" she smiled, "I remember everyone."

"That's because you're special Angie," Jack nudged her, moving to plop down beside her on the sofa, Ianto sitting on the armrest beside him.

"Got it!" Tosh cheered, "First basic pattern coming up now," the image shifted and they could see the information she'd cracked beside her.

"Is that…land prices?" Ianto squinted.

"Estimates dating back years and they're all linked to these construction plans."

"Plans for what?" Jack frowned.

"Overflow camps," Owen read over Tosh's shoulder, "It's what they're calling them, for all the patients in ICU."

"Phi-Corp's taking charge of them," Gray shook his head, "Like they own them."

"Sold some kind of strategy to the UN," Owen sighed.

"Phi-Corp and whoever else is behind them," Angel remarked, staring at the plans intently, a niggling in her mind but she just…couldn't seem to make the connection. She didn't doubt that the Doctor would have worked it out, but he wasn't there, so she'd try her best and hope.

"But what the hell are they up to?" Gwen wondered.

"Whatever it is," Ianto murmured, "It can't be good can it?"

"Ring ring," Angel called.

Gwen sighed, knowing what that meant and answered her phone just as it started to ring, "I am _so_ sorry," she called to Rhys, getting up and walking to the window to talk, trying not to disturb the others, "I've been so busy, I didn't ring you back. But I'm going call you back in half an hour, and that is a promise."

"Calm down!" Rhys laughed, "Don't worry. I'm phoning with good news. It's about your dad."

"What is it? What's happened?"

"I said it's good news. Now, stop and listen, you daft thing. I've got him onto that scheme, top of the list."

"What scheme?"

Angel stiffened beside Jack, "What is it?" he asked her quietly.

'... _Category 1 is basically dead!_...'

... _smoke rose from the tops of ceramic buildings_...

'... _let the outrage begin_...'

Angel let out a breath only able to shake her head, tears in her eyes as the terrible feeling inside her grew, the vision hadn't been clear, but it gave her enough to know that whatever was happening in the overflow camps was...terrible and horrible and that they needed to be stopped.

"Government's stepped in to prop up the NHS," Rhys continued, Gwen not seeing the others start to tense behind her, "They're spending millions. They're building these sort of camps to help people."

"...overflow camps?" Gwen swallowed.

"That's it. I got your dad inside the South Wales site."

"Ok, Rhys, listen to me. Do _not_ let them go. Do not let them take my father. I haven't time to explain. Just...just bloody move!"

"They just moved him out…"

"Then stop them, ok!" she shouted, growing frantic, hearing Rhys panting as he ran to stop them, "This is bloody Phi-Corp, Rhys, and they are up to something. Move! Don't let them go! Just get him back. Get him back now!"

A moment later, her heart stopped, "Gwen, it's too late."

She dropped her phone, turning to the others, "They've got my dad," she breathed, "They've got my dad."

Angel stood and quickly moved to her side, hugging Gwen tightly as the team looked on, solemn, but determined to help.

~8~

Owen and Tosh were in the middle of trying to get Gwen's father out of the overflow camp, Tosh trying to hack into their records while Owen tried to use his medical sway to have the man removed, yet nothing was working. The camp refused to do anything without a physical presence there, which was why they knew Gwen and Gray were heading back to Cardiff to try and stop it.

What had shocked Owen was that Gwen had actually _requested_ that _Gray_ go with her. Gwen had been all too willing to put a bullet in both Gray and Captain John when they'd met Gray, but there she was, requesting him to come along. According to her she wanted Gray with her for his experience and his, well, they all knew Gray was the sort of man to do what was necessary, his time with the aliens having skewed his morals just slightly, what might have made the others pause or fret, didn't have the same effect on Gray. He was more willing to do what needed to be done which was what Gwen needed if things went south.

Owen huffed, throwing his mobile down on the bed behind him, frustrated.

"No luck?" Tosh guessed.

"None," he glared at the phone.

"Nor me," she put her head in her hands, gently tugging at her hair, feeling miserable that she was letting Gwen down, but the firewall on the camps was even more secure than the other things she'd hacked. It was like these camps were something Phi-Corp really did NOT want others to be privy to.

Owen had just fallen back down onto the bed, staring at the ceiling, when his mobile went off, "Oh come on," he grumbled, answering it, "Harper."

"Dr. Harper," Colonel Thomas began.

Owen sat up straight, Tosh looking over, seeing him stiffen, "What's wrong?" he asked, hearing a solemn tone in the man's voice.

"The Medical Panels have been disbanded," the man began, "The report was sent to congress. HHS secretary took it directly to the president. Apparently now that the Categories have been finalized it clears the way for a lot of legislation."

He blinked, "What do you mean 'Categories?'"

"The Categories of life, it would seem."

"And what does _that_ mean?"

"Instead of dead or alive, there are now three Categories. I've sent you the information," Owen looked at Tosh and nodded to the laptop, the girl getting to work on it, "It's being rolled out across America and Europe. The Categories become official at midnight. Dr. Harper we _need_ to know what's happening, this needs to end soon, before the Categories become commonplace."

Owen nodded, "We'll need a flight to California."

"But sir…"

"You only kept me here for the Panels," Owen cut in, "You want this solved, you put Torchwood, all of us, in one place and we'll get it done."

Thomas sighed, "Understood sir, we'll book you and your wife…"

"Tosh," Owen cut in, waving at her when she looked at him, "Her name is Tosh, yeah she's my wife," he smiled, "Bloody LOVING that, but that's not her _name_ , that's just _a_ title, you call her Tosh."

"My apologies. We'll book you and Tosh the next flight out."

"Thanks," he nodded, ending the call.

"Owen," Tosh began, looking at him, alarmed, "You need to see this."

He got up and walked over to him, his jaw tensing when he saw the information on the screen, exactly what the Categories were and what it would mean for the Category 1 and 2s that were being forcibly taken to the overflow camps…

~8~

Gwen stood at the terminal of an airport, Gray behind her, both of them waiting for their passports to be checked so they could go on and get to Gwen's father.

"Thank you," Gwen smiled, Gray nodding, as they were given their fake IDs back and headed through the airport.

Gray nearly rolled his eyes when he spotted Rhys, dressed as a driver, waiting for them with a sign that read 'Yvonne Pallister & Marco Rattigan,' the aliases they'd been given.

"Yvonne Pallister," Gwen smiled as she walked up to him.

"Yes, indeed, madam," Rhys smiled at her, "I'm your driver."

"Clearly."

"Is there any luggage to pick up?"

"No, the only thing you'll be picking up is me."

"And me," Gray added quietly, holding both their bags like a gentleman.

If Rhys heard him he said nothing, just smirked at Gwen, "That'll be a pleasure."

"I don't like the tone of your voice," Gwen shot back playfully.

"And what are you going to do about it?"

"Many things," Gwen said seriously, before giving him a big kiss.

Gray waited a few moments before clearing his throat, "The mission, Gwen?"

"Right," she nodded, patting Rhys's arm, "Come on, let's get out of here. Who's with Anwen?"

"No one," Rhys answered, "I left her with petrol and a cigarette lighter," he joked, "Your mum's there, isn't she?"

Gwen nearly groaned at that, "Oh, great. See, now in America you can legally divorce your own mother."

"I get it. They do things better in America, don't they?"

"Not everything, Mr. Sloane."

"Please tell me this won't keep up the entire way back," Gray muttered, now starting to understand why Ianto and Jack had looked so (almost) pleased not to be selected to go with Gwen.

It was sweet, he was sure, that she and Rhys were so in love and he knew it was probably a coping mechanism of sorts to joke and flirt when they were worried, to lighten the fear, but he _really_ hoped he wouldn't have to put up with them flirting and kissing the entire time.

Gwen just smirked, "Not the entire way," she told him, "Rhys has to drive doesn't he?"

It was a joke in Torchwood, Gray was NOT allowed anywhere near anything that he could drive or that moved. He was a terrible driver, worse, Jack claimed, than even the Doctor. Either he drove FAR too fast or he ended up veering everywhere and reversing into things among other such instances.

~8~

Gray had to smile though when they entered Gwen's mother's home, the woman immediately handing over Anwen to the girl's mother. Gwen was a tough as nails woman, he'd seen her take down more than her fair share of men twice her size, so it always threw him to see her being so gentle and nurturing to the baby.

"Well, hello there," Gwen beamed as soon as her daughter was in her arms, "Look at you. Look at you. Have you been good? Have you missed your mum? Oh, look at how you've grown so much. Now, have I got a kiss?" she laughed as Anwen kissed her.

"She's a very good girl," her mother remarked, "Sleeps the whole night. Doesn't fuss at bedtime like some babies I could mention," she gave Gwen a look.

"My mother said the same about me," Gray remarked. Jack and him, contrary to their grown natures, were quite the opposite as children, Jack was silent and serious, while he had been playful and very, _very_ loud. It was funny how events shaped you but he wouldn't have it any other way. It was nice to see Jack being more carefree and less worried at times, while he knew Jack likely considered it a blessing that he'd matured and knew when he should be quiet.

"Look what you're wearing, huh?" Gwen tried not to grimace at the sheer amount of pink her mother had forced on her daughter, she even had a frilly pink headband, "So much pink. So...cute," she pulled the band off.

"Is this it?" Gray asked, walking over to the back wall that was covered with maps and news clippings, information they had sent to Mrs. Cooper to set up for them, he noticed a few more clippings, clearly the woman's own work.

"Your latest mission," Mrs. Cooper nodded.

"For God's sake, Mary, I told you, let her get in," Rhys sighed, "Let her spend some time with her daughter. She doesn't need to start work straightaway."

"This is all off the A48?" Gray looked at one particular area as Gwen sat down with Anwen, letting him take the lead for a few moments so she really could spend some time with her daughter.

"Two miles outside Cowbridge," Mrs. Cooper moved beside the man, pointing at the map, "Taking in patients from all South Wales."

"Are those…old army barracks," Gray squinted at another picture.

"Closed down in 1996," she nodded, "Reopened two days ago. Designated an official overflow camp. That's where they've taken your father," she glanced at Gwen, "And that's where you're going...to get him out."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Gray grinned.

Gwen shook her head, "You are JUST like your brother."

~8~

Gwen, Andy, and Gray pulled up to the old barracks that had been converted to the overflow camp, really like a large warehouse, to see a man standing before a gathering of complaining and concerned people, "If you're here about an existing claim, step to the right, please."

"But my son is in here!" a woman called, "They took him and no one asked me. Can I see him please? He's 17."

"I've written, I've phoned," another agreed, "I've been standing over there for two hours and I was in the wrong place."

"I've got money," a man tried to get through, "5,000 in cash."

"No, no, no," the man who seemed to be at least partially in charge shook his head, holding up his hands, "Can I remind you all any cars parked by the gates of the module will be towed, no excuses?"

"This is a mess," Gray murmured.

"What's the size of this place?" Gwen looked at Andy.

"God knows," the man scoffed, "They've got patients coming in from Bristol. Hospitals are closing across the southwest 'cos MRSA is going crazy. Add the increase in geriatrics and maternity, the NHS is going to go bust by the end of the week."

"How many camps nationwide exactly?" Gray frowned, looking at the man as well.

"35," Andy sighed, "Fair do's, it might be chaos, but at least it works."

"Andy, don't be so thick," Gwen shook her head, "Think about it. No NHS, who's paying for all this?"

"Phi-Corp," Gray answered, "You've got your healthcare system being run by the business that started of your problems."

"Come on," Gwen stepped forward, approaching the man still trying to calm the crowd.

"Now listen, one at a time…" the man pleaded.

"He's Category 2!" the woman called about her son.

"I'm first, my mother's Category 1," another nudged her.

"I need to take my father home," Gwen called, pushing her way to the front.

"You need to get in the queue," a woman nearly got in her face.

"Hey," Gray pushed himself between Gwen and the woman, using his full height and stature, "Back off."

Gwen smiled at that, she had slowly warmed up to Gray, he _did_ seem truly sorry for what he'd done, more and more so each time they saw him, and his time at Torchwood had helped him really come to care for them all, he was just as protective of them as Jack, perhaps even more so since he had hurt them in the past. It was like he was trying to make up for it.

"His name is Geraint Wyn Cooper," Gwen continued.

"No one's going out today," the man shook his head.

"Right, forget you," she muttered, stepping up right onto the same large rock the man was standing on, "Who's in charge? Who's in charge!"

"Admin is over there," he pointed into the warehouse, "Complaint forms are on the desk in yellow."

"Right," she nodded, hopping down and heading in.

"But we've been waiting over there!" they heard the people continue to complain as they made their way through the warehouse to the back.

"Excuse me," Gwen pushed her way through the crowd to a man in police garb, "Excuse me, lieutenant. This won't take long. I need to remove a patient. It's urgent."

"Speak to one of the care workers," he waved her off, bored, as though he'd heard this same complaint hundreds of times before, which he had, "They can tell you how to process your claim."

"It's not a _claim_ ," Gray frowned, "It's a PERSON."

"I haven't bumped my car," Gwen agreed, "We're talking about my _father_."

"Sorry, if I could just..." Andy cut in, straightening, "The thing is, the removal of this woman's father is being done under police authority, sir."

"Thank you," the man nearly scoffed, "But we are _not_ under the control of the Welsh police, sergeant."

"Look," Gwen began, "His name is Geraint Wyn Cooper. He's had a heart attack, but he's recovering."

"So he sounds like a Category 2, which means he'll be safe in here. If you'd care to read the definitions..." he turned and grabbed a pamphlet off the desk behind him, handing it to Gwen.

"Oh, I like that," she rolled her eyes at the fancy front cover, "Yeah, I'll show you definitions. Just have a look at this," she flipped it over, showing them the back of it, the familiar logo printed there, "Bloody Phi-Corp logo," she handed Gray the pamphlet and turned back to the lieutenant, "Now listen to me. This country is _not_ under martial law. My father is a taxpayer and a law-abiding citizen. He is entitled to go home and I am _not_ moving until I take him. Have you _got_ that?!" she added with more of a shout, growing more worked up the longer she talked.

"Yes, that's perfectly clear," the man drawled, "And I hope it's also clear why I'm now having you arrested," he gestured for the two officers behind him to step forward.

"Hey, sorry, boys," Andy held up a hand in surrender, "Come on now, Gwen. I think we're leaving."

"Not going anywhere," Gwen shook her head, staring down the lieutenant.

"Me either," Gray tensed, crossing his arms, standing by her.

"Given time, we will have this facility open and running like clockwork with access for all," the lieutenant tried to reassure her, "But right now we have cholera and dysentery and swine flu. And every patient needs immediate definition under the three Categories. So it's a lockdown. No one is allowed in and no one is allowed out. When the situation changes, we'll let you know. Thank you."

And with that, he turned around, leaving Gwen ignored.

Gray shook his head at the man, "Come on Gwen," he whispered to her, putting a hand on her shoulder to turn her around, "We'll think of something."

Gwen nodded and strode away, shoving past the other people who had gathered in the warehouse, "Excuse me, please. Excuse me. Bloody categories. All the things I fought with Torchwood, and what stops me? Red tape."

"Well you know what they say about that," Gray smirked, "Little snip of the scissors."

Gwen looked at him, starting to smirk as well, THIS was why she wanted Gray there, "Oh yes."

"What's say we break in here, we find your dad, and get him out?"

"Tonight?" Gwen suggested playfully.

"It's a date," Gray winked.

"Don't tell my husband that," Gwen joked, linking her arm with Gray's as they walked off.

Andy just shook his head, running after them. This would _not_ end well.

~8~

Jack frowned as he stood at the edge of the beach, watching as Angel sat in the sand, her knees to her chest, her chin resting on her knees as she stared out at the ocean. He'd noticed that there was just…something wrong…with her. She wasn't happy and joking and laughing like she had been the last time they'd seen her. Something had upset her, something had scared her, something had made her sad and…it hurt that he didn't know what it was.

Because Angel hadn't told him.

And that hurt worse, to know she wasn't talking to him about what was bothering her. The team, well, they all talked in hushed tones when Angel had fallen asleep on the way to California, they'd all told him to leave it alone for the moment. They all knew Angel, she'd push it off and want them to focus on the mission, she'd try to play it off as not bad and then pretend that she was fine and she might just fool them for a short while. He'd never had a younger sister so Gwen and Tosh telling him about what girls wanted had helped put it in perspective. They got upset easily, yes, they were more emotional than men, sure, but when they truly and deeply felt something, they closed it off. They got quiet and they just…didn't want to talk about it, not till they were ready, not till they were sure they could handle discussing it.

To push a woman to talk before she was ready would push her away.

And he didn't want that.

But it killed him to see her so… _not her_. He could only hope that he could remind her that she always had him, whenever she was ready to talk, he'd be there for her.

He walked out onto the beach, in his full clothes and WWII jacket and plopped down beside her.

"You should have told me you'd never been to California before," he remarked, "I'd have taken you."

Angel was just quiet, lost in thought, as she stared out at the different hues of blue before her, not quite as blue as the TARDIS but beautiful nonetheless.

He frowned, "Angel?"

"Do you think I'm useless Jack?" she asked.

He blinked, completely thrown by the question, "Why would you _ever_ think that Angie? Ever?"

What had _happened_ to her? The Angel he'd seen last time had been so…confident, so sure of herself, so driven…she wouldn't have _ever_ considered herself _useless_.

She shrugged, "I just…" she sighed, turning her head to rest her temple on her knees and look at him, "I just feel…like everything's spinning out of control and no matter how hard I try I just…can't help, I can't work it out, I can't stop it…"

Jack reached out and put his hand on her shoulder, "Everyone feels like that every now and then Ang, especially in times like these," he looked out at the various people walking around, "Times like these, the game goes to the person who speaks with the loudest voice. But pretty much everyone just wishes their mother was here."

"My mother can't be here," she murmured.

He squeezed her shoulder, "Neither can mine," he moved closer, putting his arm around her shoulders and rubbing her other arm, "But you know what Ang, I'M here, I'll _always_ be here, literally," he laughed, making her smile as he nudged her.

"At least once we work out what happened and reverse it."

"I spent so long Angie, being angry at being immortal," he admitted, "But…it took a very special immortal alien to show me that a longer life isn't always a curse, sometimes it's a gift."

She reached up and squeezed the hand on her arm, "It depends on the person."

"And you know what, I know that, even though Gray and Stephen and Alice will grow older, that I get to be there for them, and for their children, like a very wise woman once told me," he winked at her.

"I'll always be here for you too Jack," she rested her head on his shoulder, the two of them just staring out at the surf.

"And you're not useless Ang," he whispered to her after a few moments of silence, "You are the _greatest_ asset anyone could ever have."

"Because I'm psychic."

"No."

"Because of the Vortex?" she frowned.

"Nope," he started to smile.

She pulled away to look at him, "Because I can fix a TARDIS?"

He laughed, "Not that either."

"Then what?" she shook her head.

Jack just stared at her softly, she really _couldn't_ see it could she? She could see the brilliance in so many others, but not herself, "These," he pointed at the center of her chest with two fingers spaced out like a V, "Your hearts," he told her, "The strongest, biggest, most pure things in the Universe Angie. _No one_ has hearts like yours."

Angel blinked and started to smile, "And that's YOUR greatest asset," she pointed right at the center of his face.

"My nose?" he went cross-eyed.

"No," she laughed, "Just…you, being you. Being the best big brother ever."

"Aww, come here you," he laughed, pulling her to him in a tight hug, beaming over her shoulder as he heard her laugh a real and true laugh, like she was finally _happy_.

"We interrupting?" a woman called.

They looked over from their hug to see Tosh and Owen standing there with a suitcase each, smiling at them, both of them able to tell that Angel had cheered up quite a bit as well.

"What took you so long?" Jack joked.

"Oi!" Owen huffed, "We were lucky to even get a flight. Everyone's coming to LA for this Miracle Rally thing," he held up a flyer, "The plane was full and the AC was knackered."

Angel laughed and got up, moving to take Tosh's suitcase from her, seeing Owen was also holding a few cases of the Torchwood and UNIT equipment too, "Let me help," she took the suitcase.

"Thanks," Tosh smiled, turning to head into the house.

"Angie," Jack called as she turned to him from following Tosh, "That right there," he nodded at her, "Exactly what I was talking about."

She smiled widely at that and turned to help Tosh into the house, she'd spent so long with the Doctor, with a Doctor who only seemed to think about her in terms of her abilities even though she knew that _wasn't_ true at all, he worried about her as a person but…being around River Song, it always left her feeling like that was really the _only_ thing she was good for, the only thing that she could compare between the two of them.

It was…nice…SO nice to find that the reason Jack and the team wanted her around had nothing to do with any of that, but just…her being her. And if Jack thought she was an asset all on her own, then…maybe she was.

~8~

Jack grinned as he, Owen, Tosh, Ianto, and Angel gathered in the sitting room of the beach house. Tosh and Owen were on a sofa, Angel sitting on the armrest beside Tosh while he sat on the floor, Ianto on an armchair beside him, gathered around the TV that had scores of data streaming across it.

"And Torchwood is go," Jack announced.

"Right," Tosh nodded, bringing up even more facts but in an organized manner now that the files had finished sorting, "This is everything we've gathered so far. Got chases updating every 20 seconds, tapping into major newsfeeds, WikiLeaks, backdoor routes into the CIA and FBI..."

"What about South Wales?" Owen called.

"Got her," Ianto nodded, setting down a laptop on the middle of the coffee table with Gwen and Gray visible through it, sitting in Gwen's kitchen that night, Anwen in her arms as she burped her.

"Yeah, we're here," Gwen called.

"Can you see us?" Gray asked.

"Clear as daylight, Agents Cooper and Harkness."

"Thank you Captain Harkness," Gray laughed.

"You're welcome Agent Harkness," Jack smirked.

"How is Angie Harkness?" Gray continued the joke.

"Just fine Harknesses," Angel laughed.

"Ok can we stop that now?" Owen cut in, though they all seemed amused.

"Have you seen the latest?" Gwen asked, "France and Germany have all started overflow camps."

Ianto frowned at that, "Those were the last two left, that means the whole of Europe's joined in."

"China's saying no to the camps," Tosh reported, "But the Pan-African Summit said yes."

"Have you managed to find anything more about the morphic fields Jack?" Angel looked at him.

"It kept getting mentioned on the medical panels," Owen remarked as Jack shook his head, "But it's only theory."

"Still, better see what we can find," Gray agreed.

"Keep the traces running on Jilly Kitzinger and Oswald Danes," Angel spoke up, staring at a picture of them as it appeared on the monitor before them, "I don't think he knows it, but…he's connected himself to this now."

"Ok," Jack nodded, "How these Category things work?" he looked at Owen.

But it was Gwen who answered, "Well, they've activated the Categories over here. It's officialdom gone mad."

"Category 1 is really bad," Gray told them.

"Yeah," Owen nodded, "That's people with no brain function or anyone who would normally have died. They're Category 1."

"Ordinary people are Category 3," Jack followed along.

"Right. That's people with no injuries, nothing. They're fine."

"Then Category 2 is what?" Ianto shook his head, "Everyone in-between?"

"People who are alive and functioning with an illness or injury that'll persist but not kill."

Angel frowned though, "But…what about the people who get hurt, badly, but…if they had enough time could heal. Wouldn't that make them go from Category 2 to 3? What then?"

"That's what Owen was ranting about the entire way over," Tosh remarked.

"What?" Owen defended, "People don't fit categories."

"I agree," Angel smiled at him and Owen gave a smug nod to the others.

"Worse than that," Gray cut in, "This process has given the United Nations a definition for life, which also means there's a definition of death even in a world where no one can die."

"The government now has the power to decide whether you're dead or alive," Jack frowned, "No one should have that much control."

"What does Phi-Corp get out of this?" Ianto wondered, "How do they profit?"

"And who's controlling them?" Angel added.

"Maybe whoever that is needs these overflow camps for a reason," Owen guessed.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Tosh nodded, typing away and bringing up more information for them to see, "'Cos I have been looking into the NORAD satellites and the building specs," she showed them an image of a camp, "This is our nearest overflow camp in San Pedro," she showed them an overhead satellite map of the facility, "And THESE are the specs from the Phi-Corp server," she brought up another one, an image right on top of it, two rather large buildings at the foot of the map missing, "Do you see it? The buildings on the plans are called the modules."

"But where is it on the photograph?" Angel realized.

"No module," Jack nodded.

"There's a module on the plans but not on the photos," Tosh nodded, "It doesn't exist."

"No, hang on," Gwen frowned, "We heard somebody refer to the module today," she looked at Gray.

"The module's been masked," Gray determined, "That's what they do with military installations."

"Right," Tosh agreed, "So brilliant old me, I went into NORAD and I got the undoctored photographs. The buildings exist," she brought up the image of the satellite view again, "Half of these are old army camps just being converted. And now anything labeled the module is hidden from view so the public can't see it. It's the same for all the sites I've checked. The same thing in Wales too, Gwen."

"Hmm…" Gwen hummed, suspicious.

"But why do that?" Ianto asked, "Why seal them out of sight?"

Angel frowned, staring at the photo of the module, she felt...bad...something bad about them. Something truly terrible was involved with them. But she didn't know what and, given the horrible twisting in her gut, she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"Well, they're gathering all the Category 1s," Owen sighed, "The only question is, what are they using the bodies for? Is it to investigate or to experiment?"

"Do you mean like dissections?" Ianto looked over, "They're dissecting people?"

"Vivisections. When they're alive it's vivisections."

Jack rolled his eyes, about to comment, when Gwen cut in quietly, "My father's in there."

"They could be cultivating..." Gray suggested, "Making diseases to make more customers using Category 1 patients like Petri dishes."

"Could explain the rush to strip their human rights," Tosh had to agree.

"So we need to get inside the camp to find out what those modules are," Jack determined.

"Yeah," Gwen smirked, "Already on it this end. Rhys signed up as a driver and I used the ID software to get Gray and I on the medical register. So Nurse Yvonne Pallister and Dr. Marco Rattigan are going on the night shift."

"I could get inside San Pedro easy," Owen added, "If I use my position on the Medical Panels, I could go to San Pedro as an inspector."

"We should have a body too," Gray remarked, "Someone who can sneak around among the Category 1s, see what's happening to them."

"You know," Jack smirked at Owen, "You could have gotten in as Category 1 patient if you were still, you know, dead."

Owen rolled his eyes, "Can it mortal man. I may not be able to pass as a Cat. 1 anymore, but I can still make someone into it," they looked at him for explanation, "Couple of drugs to slow the heart rate and knock you out ought to do it. I can't see them looking too much into testing and things with all this chaos."

"I'll do it," Ianto offered.

"No," Jack shook his head.

"There's no one else Jack," Tosh remarked, "I can't, I'm pregnant, Owen's passing as a doctor…"

"Oi!" Owen pouted.

Tosh, without looking at him, just patted his leg, "You know what I mean," she told him, before continuing, "We can't risk human medicine on Angel and you're mortal. If anything happened, you'd die."

"It's _got_ to be me," Ianto nodded.

Angel looked at Jack, seeing him very much upset by this plan, about the danger posed to the ones he loved, the ones he'd nearly lost so many times before…when something caught her eye.

"Could you go back a minute Tosh," Angel called, seeing Tosh flicking through images of San Pedro, she squinted at a call for workers sign, "They need clerical staff," before biting her lip, looking at Jack, "I might be able to do that," she told them, "Get into the offices, find some paperwork…"

"Are you sure Ang?" Jack asked her, they hadn't really been separated, or at least not Angel since she got there, always had a partner with her.

She started nodding, feeling more sure of herself, "Yeah, and it would be better with me there, I might be able to sense if Owen or Ianto need me. I'll have more access as someone who works there," she glanced at Jack, "I can help protect them."

Jack sighed, "I don't like it."

"Tough," Tosh smirked, pleased that they were calling the shots this time.

~8~

Jack ran after a team of Emergency Medical Technicians as they were called to the beach house, "It's this way," he shouted, frantic, leading them into the house, right to Ianto as he laid on the sofa, unconscious, "He's over here. His name is Jonesy. He's always had a weak heart, but after Miracle Day, we thought he'd be fine but he collapsed! He won't wake up!"

"Ok," a female technician moved to kneel by Ianto, opening his eyelids to check his pupils, "Jonesy?" she called, not seeing the others peeking in from a back room or Jack trying _desperately_ not to laugh, "If you can hear me, we've got you. It'll be ok," she motioned to her team and they quickly got Ianto onto a stretcher, wheeling him out and back to their ambulance.

"Where are you taking him?" Jack ran after them.

"We have to take him to the overflow facility in San Pedro. Is that ok?"

"Can I come with him?"

"I'm sorry, sir. There's no visitors. Here," she handed him a paper, "Dial this number and ask for an update."

"You look after him. I love him. That crazy old boyfriend of mine," his sad expression faded into a pleased smirk as the vehicle drove away and he made his way back in to see Owen and Angel getting ready, "He's on his way."

"No," Owen muttered sarcastically, "Is he?"

"Hush," Tosh lightly whacked him on the chest, before kissing him, "Be careful."

"Always," he promised her, sincere, ever since they'd found out about the baby, he'd been FAR more careful than he usually was. He was NOT about to leave his son without a father.

"Right, now, Angie," Jack turned to Angel, "You and Owen are gonna follow."

Owen nodded, "I phoned UNIT, had them pull a few strings. Got observer status."

"Any trouble," Jack continued, "You help get each other out."

Angel smiled, hearing a second meaning in his words, he fully believed she was capable of holding her own in there and helping Owen if needed, "Aye Aye Captain," she joked.

He laughed, hugging her tightly, "You be careful too."

"Everything will be fine Jack," Angel crossed her hearts, "Trust me."

"Always," Jack nodded, stepping aside to let the two out.

"Think they'll be ok?" Tosh had to ask as soon as the door was shut, leaving the two of them to man the databases and tech.

"With Angie there, oh yeah," Jack said, fully believing it.

Some would say the same for the Doctor, but for him, it was Angel, she'd kept the Time Lord plenty safe, he'd seen her save people the man couldn't. She'd saved Owen's life twice before, he trusted her with it, he trusted her with his team's life, with his life, always. When Angel put her mind to something, amazing things happened.

~8~

Oswald and Jilly smiled as they sat in the backseat of a limousine, watching a TV report of the Rally they were heading to on the small screen that dropped down from the ceiling of the car.

"Yes, there are some heavy hitters lined up for today's Miracle Rally to raise money for the overflow camps," a man was saying, standing before a large gathering of people all talking and cheering, "At 4pm, the vice President will introduce the President, who will speak live from the Oval Office via satellite. Then a parade of big-name guests will take the stage," he smiled at a young girl beside him, "Jessica MacCauley got here early from Redlands. Tell us who you're here to see."

"Oswald Danes," she breathed, making Oswald smirk, "The execution guy. He's just been _so_ amazing since all this happened."

"But doesn't it worry you, his criminal record? The things he did?"

"But you can't have a Miracle Day without miracles. And that's Oswald. He really _is_ a miracle."

"I think we have someone," they could hear, not just from the TV but outside as the limo pulled up to the crowd, "I think we have someone here!"

"Alright," Jilly began quickly as the car began to slow, "We've got you on fourth in the running order, that's 90 minutes before the President. They wanted clear blue water between you and him, which is understandable. Here is a first draft of what they want you to say," she handed him a piece of paper with the speech on it, "The key word is 'revelation.' You say revelation and the Phi-Corp logo comes up. And I mean massive. Actually, I've put revelation in all caps…" she pointed out.

"Why was this written out for me?" he frowned, staring at the words that just…weren't him, "I'd rather use my own words."

"Oh, really? Oswald, that's sweet. Take it."

"Oswald!" they could hear the crowd chant as Jilly got out, rushing around the side to join him, "Oswald!"

"And we're walking, Eugene," Jilly called into her phone as she escorted Oswald out, "Confirm Oswald Danes arriving at Gate 6."

"Oswald!" the crowd was screaming now, "Oswald!"

"Thank you," he smiled at them, "Thank you. Thank you. It's very good of you to come. Great to be here with all of you today. Good of all you to come."

You'd never think, from their reactions, that the man had raped and murdered a little girl.

…or maybe you could.

"You bastard!" one man shouted, clearly remembering the truth behind Danes, "You bastard, Danes! You killed her!"

"Go!" Jilly urged him to rush down a small ramp towards the building as the man and a few others began to throw rocks and other objects at him, "Trouble. Go, go. Go, go, go, go," she whipped out her phone as soon as Oswald was in the building, "Yeah, it's Gate 6. I didn't get the ID, but there was a TV camera and they filmed the whole thing. Now get that footage. I want that footage _destroyed_. Do you hear me? No, don't tell me to keep it down. Don't you _ever_ tell me that. You just _do_ it!"

"20,000 people all here for me?" Oswald smirked though, even as Jilly had a minor-meltdown, chuckling darkly.

Excellent.

~8~

Owen pulled the car to a stop outside the overflow camp, glancing at Angel, "Remember, if we meet, you don't know me."

She nodded, "Owen…be careful out there."

"You too."

She got out of the car but stopped, staring at the camp, and turned back to him, "And Owen…" she bit her lip a moment, "DON'T let him get you alone."

"Who?" he frowned.

"I don't know," she swallowed, "But…" she glanced around, lowering her voice, "Keep your gun ready."

He stiffened and nodded, keeping that firmly in mind, knowing Angel would NEVER tell him to have his gun on him if she weren't truly scared for his safety, as he pulled up to a checkpoint to get in.

"ID?" the guard called and he handed one over, "Ok. Hold on. Go ahead. Next!"

And Owen pulled into the camp.

~8~

Ianto slowly came around to see nurses and doctors rushing around him, beds lined up as far as he could see, feeling a bit groggy as the drugs wore off, Owen had been very specific that they wear off by the time he'd arrived. They had agreed to pass him off as a Category 2, to ensure he'd be awake and fully functioning instead of risking him automatically being listed as Category 1 and being unable to help himself if the drugs didn't wear off as soon as they had. That was another reason Angel was there, to get into the computers and forge some papers to make him a Category 1 once he was awake.

"Ok," a young doctor walked up to him, a line of what looked like colored clothes pins dangling around his neck, in white, blue, and red, "What have we got?" he grabbed Ianto's chart, "Positive on respirations. Positive on pulse…heart defect," he glanced at Ianto, "That makes you Category 2, sir," he pulled a blue clip off and stuck it to Ianto's button up shirt, having forgone his typical suit in favor of simple pants and a shirt.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Category 2, rhymes with blue," the man shrugged, moving to the bed beside him, "Negative. Negative. Category 1. Ok," he ushered a nurse on as he pulled the line of clips off and hung them on an IV holder, "Go ahead and write up the chart and I'll peg her," he pulled a red clip off and pinned it to the woman.

"Hold on," Ianto frowned, "She's very ill…doesn't she need more than just a peg?"

"It's emergency procedure," the man said quickly, "I've 50 patients to process in an hour. Got a better system, write a letter."

Ianto frowned, watching as the man rushed off.

~8~

"What happened to Rosanna?" a plump black woman asked, glancing up at Angel as she slowly made her way into an office-like area.

"She won the lottery," Angel shrugged, "Central Office called me in," she added, going with the story the team had worked up for her, "Angela Jones," she reached out to shake the woman's hand, "Nice to meet you."

"Rachel Jameson."

She smiled and sat at the open desk across from Rachel, glancing around, "Um, sorry," she smiled apologetically, "I've never worked in an office like this before, they said something about copying the statistics for the module?"

"Nothing to do with me. Ask Maloney," Rachel jerked a thumb at the only enclosed office in the room, with windows in it so they could see a slightly balding man with glasses sitting within, grinning.

Angel watched him closely as he got off the phone with someone and rushed out of the office just as Owen swaggered in, "Welcome, welcome. My casa is your casa. My name is Colin Maloney and I'm in charge here," he shook Owen's hand.

"Dr. Owen Harper."

"Welcome to Medical Lot 338, Dr. Harper. Sorry about the heat. Suppose you take it better than me, huh?"

"Probably," Owen shrugged, being blunt, "Shall we begin? I'd like to start with the module."

Maloney blinked, startled, "I'm sorry, module's closed, obviously. You're from Washington. You should know that."

"Yeah and since my inspection orders mention it specifically, I think I'd best see it, don't you?"

The man chuckled nervously, "Quite the take-charger aren't you? Patients first, I think. Don't you?" he echoed, "That's always my motto. Rachel, pull my cart around for me, would you?" he called as Rachel rolled her eyes and picked up the phone, "I had a little cart customized. I think you'll find it easier on your feet."

"My feet are fine," Owen eyed him, "Though I'm not surprised yours aren't."

Maloney chuckled as though he'd made a joke instead of an insult, clapping Owen on the back as he led the man out.

Owen glanced back at Angel as he reached the door to see her give him a small, worried smile and winked at her in reassurance before he left the room.

~8~

"It's, er," Rhys stuttered as he pulled a small lorry up to the gates of their own overflow camp, "Driver Rhys Williams, Nurse Pallister, and Dr. Rattigan," he told the guard, who checked his roster, "Just like the old days," he murmured to Gwen.

"No, it's not," she shook her head, serious, "It's worse. It only ever gets worse."

"Mr. Williams, Miss Pallister, Dr. Rattigan, you can head on in," the guard waved them on.

"Not big on security are they?" Gray remarked.

"All the better for us," Gwen agreed as they reached the warehouse, hopping out.

"Good luck," Rhys called to them.

Gray gave him a small salute while Gwen smiled, "Ok, see you later."

~8~

Angel printed out a copy of the documents that marked a 'patient' as Category 1, having managed to easily find it in the system before quickly excusing herself on a bathroom run and making her way carefully through the rows and rows of sick and injured outside the building, walking right over to where Ianto was, letting her feelings guide her.

She knelt down beside him, "Hello," she whispered, putting a hand on his, "You ok?"

He nodded, "Did you find it?"

She held up the papers, taking the file by his bed and switching out the Categories before handing him something to hide under his covers, "Here's the camera."

"Right," he glanced over, "Get one of those red pegs and clip it on me, Red is for Category 1," he told her.

She moved over and nabbed one, pinning it to his shirt, "Good luck Ianto," she whispered, kissing his forehead quickly and giving his hand one more squeeze before rushing over to a nurse as he laid back down, "Hello? Excuse me, sorry, um, I noticed that man's in the wrong place," she pointed at Ianto, "His chart says that he's Category 1 and he's clipped for it too," she gestured to the evidence, the nurse checking the chart as well, "We should move him. Take him to the module."

The nurse nodded and called for some other male nurses to help move him, Angel biting her lip as she watched him go.

~8~

"Ok!" Jilly cheered as she found Oswald sitting in a chair against the wall of a hallway beneath the stage where the Rally would be held, "Found you this," she handed him a water, "And here's a new copy of the speech," she gave him a new paper, "They've added some stuff in about a lifetime of penitence, et cetera."

"I understood that I was supposed to have a dressing room," he cut in, "Did they run out?"

"Oh, no," she smirked a bit, "No. There's plenty of dressing rooms. I checked. You'd be surprised, genuinely chic. I'd imagined this place to be all concrete."

"Where's mine?"

"Tiny little problem," she winced mockingly, "Certain other people in certain other dressing rooms, they don't want you anywhere _near_ them. And we're talking serious names here. It's a very definite ixnay on the Oswaldway."

"But that's your job," he glared at her, speaking threateningly, "YOU represent ME. You get me a room."

"Now don't get angry," she laughed, "Careful with the bloodlust. It's showing. Excuse me..." she smiled, pulling out her phone as it rang, slowly walking down the hall away from him, "Steve, no. I told him no. And you know what? If that little bastard tries to charge me one more time, so help me God, I'm going to get Ioannidis on him."

Oswald sighed and looked around, tensing when he spotted Jack standing at the end of the hall, "Won't be but a minute," he called to the guards who had come with him as he made his way down the hall in that direction, "No, no, stay here," he added when they tried to follow, "That's an order."

He reached the end of the hall, but Jack was gone…only for him to catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye, down another hall. He rushed after the man, who just kept seeming to disappear and reappear for a moment, until he reached where the stage was still being constructed, Jack nowhere to be found.

~8~

Owen rolled his eyes as 'I Wish I was in Dixie' played on the horn for a small golf cart that Maloney had driven over to him, hopping in the back as Owen took the front seat, "I want you to meet Ralph," Maloney gestured to the driver, "He's my personal escort while I'm on the lot. Great guy. Great guy."

"Good to meet you, Doctor," Ralph nodded, pulling away to start the tour.

"Yeah, likewise," Owen sighed.

"This is my first tour, but I think we might get some important people wanting to visit, you know?" Maloney grinned, "We've got a line on Hillary I'm feeling really good about."

He frowned, "Hillary Clinton?"

"Duff," Maloney corrected, sounding even more pleased by this Hillary than former First Lady, "Hillary Duff. Alright, this way," he got out of the cart as it pulled up before a tent of some sort.

"...to help their system and to fund research into the Miracle itself…" Maloney paused to see a TV playing news of the Rally.

"Oh, we're missing it, that Miracle Rally. I hear rumors of Phil Collins."

Owen however, had ignored him and was actually checking the chart of a patient, "This patient is being monitored every hour," he nodded, vaguely impressed, "That's very good."

"Yes, our priority is efficiency. If a patient is in decline, we monitor them very closely so that we can move them to Category 1 promptly without wasting any more resources."

Owen frowned at him, "Your priority should be _care_ , not efficiency."

"Everybody gets sufficient care, Dr. Harper," he assured the man, "Did I say any different?"

"Category 1 is basically _dead_. You don't just lower their status, you're letting them die when you make them Category 1."

"Well, there are new triage regulations, doctor. Treat the ones who can recover."

"That regulation was put in place for emergencies only," he said, vaguely recalling a mention of it at panel, some Vera woman had thought of it in her hospital.

"This _is_ an emergency. Everything here is an emergency. We can't give everybody private rooms. Would you like a private room, George?" he turned to a male patient who could only wheeze and not answer, "Yeah? See, they'd all love private rooms. But it's impossible. Now you should see the kitchens. They are gleaming."

Owen glared at the man as he walked off, seeming inches away from wanting to find a way to murder someone who couldn't die given the man's complete lack of concern for the patients around him.

~8~

Gwen was wandering through the aisles and aisles of patients in the overflow warehouse, when she heard someone hissing at her, "Gwen! Gwen!"

She looked over to see Gray peering at her through a stack of equipment on a wheeled shelf.

"Did you find him?" she asked, making her way over to him.

"Yeah," he smiled, leading her back the way he'd come, right to her father.

"Gwen?" the man blinked up at her.

"Oh, my God, dad," she knelt beside him, taking his hand, "How are you? How do you feel?"

"All the better for seeing you," he smirked.

She laughed, "Oh, dad."

"What are you wearing? Pyjamas?"

"No, dad."

"You look good though. It's good to see you."

"Yeah, we couldn't come to visit. They wouldn't let us in. We…"

"Gwen," Gray cut in gently, a hand on her shoulder, "We need to be quick."

She nodded, "Listen, dad, we've come to get you, alright?"

"Get me?" the man frowned.

"Yeah."

He looked over at Gray, "Who's your friend?"

"Jack's brother."

"Gray," he introduced, "Nice to meet you."

Gwen snorted at that, "I definitely see the family resemblance," she murmured, thinking of Angel.

Gray beamed at that, making the connection as well, before shaking his head, "Gwen, the lorry."

"Let's go, dad," she started to help him up, "What have you got, shoes or just slippers?"

"Where are we going?" her father asked.

"Sir, it's not safe here," Gray told him, helping him to his feet, "We need to get you out."

"What do you mean 'it's not safe?'"

"You know all those things I used to investigate with Torchwood?" Gwen began, "This is one. Haven't time to explain. But listen, you've got to come with me, dad, ok?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

Gwen nodded as well and they led him through the maze of beds, carefully avoiding the nurses and doctors till they reached a back space they could sneak out of, Rhys waiting with the lorry for them.

"Easiest to have him in the cab," Rhys ran over, helping them to the front of the truck, "Geraint, can you climb up? We'll give you a hand."

"I can do that, don't worry," Mr. Cooper waved him off.

"Rhys," Gray looked at him, "Go around and pull him up, we'll push from behind.

"Ok," Rhys ran off to climb into the cab.

"Are they coming?" Mr. Cooper began to pant, "Is it safe?"

"Dad, don't panic now," Gwen tried to calm him, "Try to stay calm. I've got you."

"We need to hurry," Gray looked back, seeing one or two nurses looking over, "They're starting to see us."

Gwen moved to help him push…when her father groaned in pain.

"He doesn't look good," Rhys called.

"What?" Gwen gasped as her father let go of his leverage and began to fall back into their arms, "Dad? Dad? Dad!" she started to panic as he began to clutch at his chest, in pain, "Dad? We need some help, please!" she shouted, drawing the attention of the other nurses on purpose, her father was having a heart attack! It was justified, "I need some help. Anyone, please, I need some help!"

"Code 1..." a nurse yelled back as she ran over, Gray backing up to give more room, "Assistance needed, please. Code 1! I need assistance now!"

"Come on!" Gwen pleaded with her father before speaking quickly to the nurse, "He's my patient. He's already had a heart attack," he gave a cry of pain in her arms and shuddered, making her wince, "Look, he's my dad, ok? He's my father. Now I need you to look after him, please. Is it bad? I got you. Dad?" she gasped as his eyes fell closed, "Dad!"

~8~

Ianto kept his eyes closed, kept as still as he could be as he was moved into the module, the movers thinking him a Category 1. It was a large, dark room, with what looked like messes of bunk beds or large shelves everywhere. As soon as the door closed, the workers leaving, Ianto quickly got out of his bed and looked around, opening the camera to use as light as he recorded what he saw.

The room was full of bodies, cleary the ones who 'should' be dead, given their injuries and states of decomposition halted.

He grimaced, pulling out a handkerchief to hold in front of his mouth and nose as he filmed them, "This is the module, built by Phi-Corp, hidden within the overflow camps. I'm inside one, and you can see they are treating patients like storage objects," he walked over to the walls, feeling them, "It's cold in here, the walls are cold too, made of ceramic. Don't know why," he returned to one of the patients, feeling their arm, "The patients are warm, they're still alive, but I don't think this is refrigeration. No sign of experimentation, but they are very injured and just…being _left_ here," he shook his head, heading for the door, "Let's see what's outside then."

He pulled the door open and stepped out to see a few other identical modules set up on either side of him.

~8~

Owen half-jumped off the cart as it pulled to a stop at the next point in the tour, stalking off as Maloney ran after him, "I'm sorry, where are you going?" the man demanded.

"I want to see inside," Owen moved to one of the other buildings that had 'Restricted Access' on the door, for authorized personnel.

"It's just storage," Maloney tried to wave him off.

Owen just rounded on him, "Whenever I want to see something, you pull me off. Which is interference in the inspection. You let me do my job or I report you, understood?" he didn't even wait till the man answered before turning and storming into the building, only to stop short in horror, seeing the room _full_ of patients, seemingly forgotten and very _very_ ill ones, "Is this what you call storage?!" he shouted, half-disgusted, half-outraged.

"It's…a temporary measure…" Maloney supplied as he and Ralph followed Owen in, "We don't have the staff. We don't have the money or the room."

"Which patients are these?" he looked at a chart, seeing one condition similar to the patients outside, so what made them different?

"These are the ones without insurance."

He scoffed, disgusted at that, "Where are the nurses? Have they even been _fed_? Excuse me," he moved to a woman's side, "I'm sorry, but how long have you been here?"

"Yesterday," she rasped, "They said...we had to wait."

"These people, they're pending," Maloney added, "We've a couple of glitches in the system, that's all. Just ten days ago I had a job in public housing. I think I've adapted very well."

"Please, help me," another patient begged.

Owen's eyes widened, "That man's wearing RED!" he shook his head, "That's brain dead and yet he's conscious!"

"So we made a mistake," the man shrugged, "Hundreds of patients, one mistake. That's an excellent hit rate."

Owen stormed over to him, "You made him _Category 1_. He's nowhere _near_ 1\. Do you realize what happens when you make somebody 1?"

"We should step outside," Maloney tried to usher him out, "We're disturbing the patients."

Owen just shook his head and stepped back, "What _else_ are you hiding?" he turned and stalked through the room, to a back door, "And what's in laundry?" he read off the door, before bursting into the room, nearly gagging at the horrible, soiled smell, "This is _disgusting_!"

"I think you've forgotten America's in crisis," Maloney remarked harshly, "I don't know how you Brits do things across the pond, but times like this, somebody's got to take charge. And in this instance it just happens to be me."

"What, and you think you're actually doing a good job?" Owen scoffed.

"I'm under budget."

"So spend the money!" he shook his head, "This is why a system like this'll never work because it'll always be run by men like you. Idiots the lot of you!"

"What are you going to do, report me?" Maloney rolled his eyes, "You're not even an American citizen.

"I'm not no," Owen agreed, "But I've got an awful lot of connections, you see. I was brought here by the government," he said, enjoying the startled look on Maloney's face, "And I can do so much more than report you. I can have you prosecuted, thrown in jail for life."

"Oh, you're so full of it."

"Am I?" Owen glared, "Try me. You'll be prosecuted for causing harm to people in your care and YOU will be found guilty as charged. I guarantee you're going to jail. I swear I will see you inside a prison cell for the rest of your long life."

Maloney glared and put his hands behind his back, "Ralph, come on. Come on, arrest me."

"Oh, don't be so rid..." Ralph began.

Owen tensed, as though _just_ noticing it was only the three of them in the room, that he was alone with the man and his guard.

"This jerk wants to arrest me. You going to do that?"

"Maybe you should both cool off…"

Owen subtly reached behind him, taking the gun tucked into the back of his belt, ready…

" _You_ should do it, Dr. Harper," Maloney sneered, advancing on him, "You're so clever. You Brits, thinking you know what's best for us?" he grabbed Owen's arm, "Come on. Come on, arrest me!"

"Get off!" Owen shoved him away.

Maloney stumbled back and turned to Ralph, grabbing the gun off him, and turning to fire on Owen…

Only for Owen to fire back at him first, one shot to the leg sending the man to the floor, making him drop the gun too far away to reach, before he raised his gun at Ralph, "You want to join him as a Category 2?" he glared, his hearts racing at how close he'd nearly come to being shot. If it hadn't been for Angel's warning…he didn't even want to think what might have happened to him.

"N-no," Ralph stuttered.

Owen nodded, "Come here," he gestured him over, ignoring Maloney's cries of pain as the man clutched at his leg.

Ralph swallowed and made his way over…Owen grabbing his arm roughly, yanking him over to a radiator in the wall, pulling the man's handcuffs off him and chaining him to it. He turned, grabbing one of the soiled sheets and tore a piece off it, half-shoving it into the man's mouth as he tied the strip behind his head, gagging the boy. He turned and stormed over to Maloney, holding the gun right at his head as the man froze, clearly thinking he was about to be turned into a Category 1.

But Owen just smacked him across the face with the butt of his gun, knocking him out. He needed to make sure he could get Ianto and Angel out of there before any alarms were raised.

He headed for the door, pausing to look back at Ralph, "You tell your little buddy when he wakes up," he glanced at Maloney, "Never, ever try to pull a gun on a man who has a psychic on his team."

And with that, he stormed out of the room, tucking the gun back behind him and swearing Angel was getting the _biggest_ hug of her life when he saw her again. That was three time she'd saved his life, three times she'd given him more time with Tosh.

That deserved a hug that was three times as big.

~8~

Oswald Danes paced in the hall beneath the stage of the Miracle Rally, able to hear the MC building up the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen and children of the world," he began, shouting into the microphone, "This is Los Angeles and this is the Miracle Rally!"

"Ah," Jilly ran over to him, "Ok. You're on in five minutes. They've cut you down to 90 seconds. But here's the new draft," she handed him yet another revision to his speech.

"Oh, God damn it," he grumbled, seeing yet another version of the words that weren't his.

"And the keyword is still 'revelation.' You got that? Hmm? You've got to say 'revelation,'" she grinned and hurried off to make sure everything was set, just making it to the stairwell, when a voice called out behind her.

"Miss Kitzinger?" a man stepped up.

She stopped and turned to him, smiling, he was rather handsome, "Can I help you?"

"Just wanted to say you're doing a very good job."

"Thank you," she smiled more genuinely, eyeing him, "And you are?"

"Oh, this isn't about me. _You're_ the one being noticed."

"By whom?"

"The right people."

She smirked, nodding, "Good."

"Excellent," he agreed.

She gave him another look over, "We should talk."

He chuckled, backing off down the stairs, "We'll see."

She watched him go a moment longer, before the cheering of the crowd reached her and she remembered her job. She shook her head and rushed up the stairs.

~8~

"He was fine," Gwen murmured as she sat beside Rhys, his arm around her, Gray standing before her, his arms crossed, staring across the rows of people in the overflow warehouse, watching the doctors as they spoke over Gwen's father a small distance away, "Then I sweep in like I'll solve everything. And then I cause this."

"This wasn't your fault Gwen," Gray remarked, his eyes still on Mr. Cooper.

"You didn't CAUSE anything," Rhys agreed, squeezing her.

"He had a heart attack because _I_ made him get up," Gwen sighed, before glancing down at Rhys's pocket as something moved, "And your phone won't stop buzzing."

Rhys pulled out his phone, "It's the supervisor. I'm supposed to be at work, remember?"

"Go," Gray called, "You can't let them fire you, we might still need the lorry later."

Gwen nodded, patting Rhys's leg, "Go on, I'll call you when I know something. I promise."

Rhys gave her a quick kiss before standing and heading off.

"Gwen," Gray tensed, seeing them moving her father.

Gwen stood up, frowning as the man was wheeled off, in the opposite direction of the Category 2s. She quickly made her way over to another doctor with a clipboard, stopping them, "Excuse me. Hi. Don't want to bother you, but the man who had a heart attack, Geraint Cooper, he's my dad…"

"Sorry, your father's being reclassified," the woman checked a chart, "He's Category 1."

"That's not possible," Gray shook his head as Gwen looked like she'd been punched in the gut, "Category 1 is brain-dead, he's alive."

"He's unconscious. His heart is failing…"

"Yeah, and that's NOT Category 1. He's just _un_ conscious."

"I'm sorry, the doctor decides, not me."

"Right," Gwen scoffed, "But where is this doctor? Because I need a word. Ok? Because my father is _not_ dead."

"Well, you've got till tomorrow morning 'cos then we have to move him. Those are the instructions, I'm afraid. All Category 1s go to the module."

"And what happens there?" Gray crossed his arms, glaring, recalling Angel's reactions when the module plans had first been introduced. They had all seen the expression on her face, they all knew nothing good happened there.

"Sorry, it's not my area. Try asking admin.," she turned, nodding the men wheeling Mr. Cooper on, "Wheel him out. Store him with the rest of the Cat 1s."

"Gwen," Gray grabbed her arm as she moved to go after them, "We'll get him back, I promise."

Gwen swallowed, watching as her father disappeared around a corner.

~8~

Angel stared at the monitor of her computer, unable to really focus on anything. She'd found a few papers about the module, but all of them just referred to the place as storage.

She bit her lip, swallowing hard, starting to feel ill, only this time it wasn't just a bad feeling in her gut, it was the baby.

Why did they call it morning sickness when it happened randomly throughout the day?

She'd just turned to Rachel, about to say she was going to the restroom, when she paused.

Owen had stormed back into the room and was heading right for her.

She let out a breath of relief, seeing him ok. She'd been worried for him ever since they'd separated. She'd told Rory once, vaguely, to keep an eye on a woman, not having realized there would be more than one woman he'd encounter. She'd later realized she'd meant Ambrose, he thought she'd meant Alaya, and it had not ended well for any of them. She'd been so scared that her words not to let himself get alone with someone would be too vague, but there he was. He was ok.

Thank God.

"Miss Jones?" he walked over, not looking at her but at the few women around her, going with their 'not knowing each other' ruse.

"Angela," she held out a hand, shaking his, "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," he nodded, "Mr. Maloney was called away to deal with something and asked if you might show me out?"

She blinked, hearing the hidden meaning, they needed to leave, now, "Of course," she nodded, standing, taking a few papers with her that no one noticed and led him out.

As soon as they were outside, surrounded by chatter and other voices she looked at him, "What happened?"

"Maloney got me alone," Owen muttered darkly, "But I kept my gun ready."

"You didn't…"

"No," he looked at her, "Not like you can kill anyone anymore, but I shot his leg to keep him down. Knocked him out and chained up his escort. We need to go before someone finds them."

She nodded, "We need to find Ianto."

Owen gestured ahead of them, "Lead the way."

~8~

Ianto carefully made his way around the different modules with the camera, recording as he went, "I've searched the perimeter and it's all sealed off. There are three buildings in this module but they all have too small a capacity for real storage, which is what they claim they are. Storage for the Category 1s. But there's no way they'll fit all of those patients here. It's exactly as small on the inside as on the outside."

He looked around, making his way behind them to see what sort of controls might be attached to them.

~8~

Oswald Danes took a breath, trying to calm himself as he looked down the hall, only to spot Jack standing in a doorway to a stairwell. He frowned, and made his way over to it, pleased to see the man was still there this time, "Mr. Jack Harkness," he chuckled, "I could accuse you of having an obsession with me."

Jack just looked at him, "What happens afterward, Oswald, when the fever dies down and the world wakes up to the fact that a murderer is standing center stage? Somewhere out there those men are waiting for you in the dark."

"I can smell them," Oswald agreed, "Their pits are soaked with sweat and bile."

"But what if...you became a hero instead?"

"Oh, my, yeah," Oswald started to nod, "Certainly that would be good."

"You're about to go out onstage and talk to the world with a happy little Phi-Corp speech, yeah?" he took the paper in Oswald's hand, "But you could use this moment, Oswald," he handed him back the paper, but held up another as well, one that Tosh had typed for him, the woman back in the beach house, running her searches and trying to crack the information they still needed, "Here's your speech," he gave it to him too, "Say those words instead. Phi-Corp knew about the Miracle. They've been ready for _years_. That's the proof all written down ready for everyone to hear it."

Oswald read it over quickly and glanced at him, "You want _my_ help?"

"I want _anyone's_ help," he corrected, "I've never dealt with anything like this. It's way beyond me. But you, you could expose Phi-Corp live on air and help ME change the world."

"We'd be partners?" he asked as Jack nodded, "And what would I get out of it?"

"End the Miracle...then you can die. You're cursed with intelligence. Clever enough to know who you are and wise enough to want it to end. You help me and I promise..." he swore, "I will help YOU to die."

"Oswald," Jilly called as she rushed down the hall towards him, "Oswald, they've been looking for you. You're on in 30 seconds."

"Yeah, sure," Oswald nodded, blinking as he turned to go, "Certainly."

"Do the right thing, Oswald," Jack called.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Jilly's eyes narrowed at him, recognizing him from the man she'd seen Owen glance at, knowing this was Jack Harkness but unwilling to let it slip that she knew, not wanting him to be suspicious of her.

"You've got one chance," he continued to call to Oswald as the man turned and left, "Take it."

"One chance for what?" Jilly looked between him and Oswald's retreating figure, "What exactly did you just say to him?" she snapped at Jack.

He smirked, "Maybe you're about to find out."

"Who are you?"

"Don't miss the speech," Jack turned and headed off in the other direction.

"One more thing, soldier!" Jilly called, making him turn to her as she snapped a picture on her phone, wanting proof for her bosses that Jack really was there. She watched him go a moment, before turning and rushing off after Oswald, now actually worried, "Wait a minute, Oswald. What did he say to you?" but her voice was drowned out as Oswald made it to the stage, the cheering louder than her, "Revelation!" she shouted, hoping he heard her.

"Oswald Danes!" the MC introduced as the crowd went wild.

"That's the keyword. Stick to the script, ok? Say _revelation_!"

Oswald, if he heard her, made no indication of it as he made his way on stage, squinting against the lights as he reached a podium set up for him, "Kind of hard to see. What do I want?" he fidgeted, looking at the two speeches set before him, "That's the question. All these years on this Earth, what do I really want?"

"Children, you bastard!" a man shouted in the crowd.

"No," he shook his head, "Because that's my curse. I'm cursed with the knowledge of that deep down in my soul, sir. And that's my tragedy. It's who I am."

"You're a loser!"

"All these..." he dropped the speeches, the papers fluttering to the floor, "Alright. All these fancy words," he picked them up, looking lost, "They're no help to me. And these...these..." he sighed, turning them over and looking at the crowd, "These won't help me either. The truth is I _know_ what I am," he told them, "And I know what you are too. Yes, I do. Each and every one of you. Because I know for certain what has happened to the Human Race," he smiled, slowly growing more confident as Jack and Jilly watched from opposite ends of the stage, "I know because this has happened before. 50,000 years BC. what's called the Great Leap Forward. Human beings suddenly…we started to bury our dead. We created art and money and love. They loved. They learned to love. We made a leap from animal to human. And now, right now, in our very own lifetimes…" he laughed, "It has happened again. The next Great Leap. We have made it from animal to human to what? _This_ is the question. After Miracle Day...what are we now? _I_ know," he called, "This is something I know because I am the man...who has lost heaven forever. So I can feel the truth of it. I'm telling you...man has risen again!" he shouted over the crowd as they began to cheer, "Now he has a new name. And his name...is..." he lowered his voice, the crowd hushing to silence as he whispered…

"Angel," he smiled, repeating it louder, "Angel. Angel!"

Jack shook his head sadly at how Oswald had made his choice, and disgusted that the man would _ever_ compare himself to the girl who was like his sister. Even being an alien, she was more human than this man was, she was more an actual angel than anyone he'd ever met.

"Oswald!" the crowd began to chant, "Oswald! Oswald."

"We are _angels_!" the man grinned.

"Oswald! Oswald!"

"We have been elevated. He have been purified. We have been given life...unending. We are the first angels on Earth!" the crowd started to clap, "And I promise you this there are even those who have been planning for this, the agents of angels in this brand-new world. I'm telling you right now, THEY stand amongst us. Yes! For this is MY...revelation!"

The crowd went wild as the Phi-Corp logo flashed on the screens behind him.

Oswald just held out his arms, his eyes closed, taking in the chants and cheers of the crowd, "Oswald! Oswald!"

Jack simply turned and walked away.

~8~

"Ianto!" Owen hissed through a fence, spotting Ianto wandering around the back of the modules Angel had led him right too.

"Are you ok?" Angel asked, curling her fingers around the fence as Ianto ran over to them.

"I'm fine, what happened?" he asked them.

"We need to go," Owen moved to the lock on the fence, starting to pick it…

When an alarm blared and the sound of large locks clanking into place rang out.

They looked up as Ianto spun around, seeing that the modules themselves appeared to be powering up.

"What's going on?" he frowned, about to step closer.

"Ianto don't," Angel called, her voice cracking as tears filled her eyes, staring at the modules, that pit in her stomach worse than ever.

"No, go," Owen nodded him on, "See what's happening."

Angel swallowed as Ianto put a hand on hers, squeezing it before rushing over to a module door, lifting the camera to record what might be happening inside.

~8~

"Rhys," Gwen called into her mobile as she and Gray stood outside the warehouse, staring out at the modules across the lot.

"On my way back," Rhys reassured her, "They had me running patients to the burn center…"

Gwen frowned, stiffening, "Burn center?"

"Yeah, that's what the driver said the modules are for burns victims. All done now though. Be there soon, ok?"

"Gwen?" Gray looked at her, seeing her go pale and stare at the modules, "What is it?"

~8~

"Oh my God," Ianto breathed, his mouth falling open, his eyes wide in horror as he stared into the module.

"What are they doing?!" Owen cried as they saw smoke start to rise out of the tops of them.

Angel grimaced, a horrible stench in the air that had her turning to a waste barrel behind her, gripping the sides of it so tightly her knuckles turned white.

"Angel!" Owen ran over to her as she started heaving into it.

"Owen!" Ianto shouted, still recording what was happening in the module, but looking away from it at him as he looked up…

Angel shook beneath Owen's hand as he tried to rub her back and hold her hair away from her face as she was ill in the barrel. She closed her eyes, shaking, trembling as the truth was revealed in the stench and smoke.

~8~

"They've built _ovens_ ," Gwen realized, staring in horror at the modules releasing a white smoke, a terrible smell reaching them, "They built ovens all over the world. _That's_ what the modules are, they're ovens," she looked at Gray, alarmed and disgusted, "They're _burning_ them. The patients, they're burning them _alive_."

~8~

A well-dressed black man sat in his office on the top floor of a large office building when his lovely secretary walked in, "I pulled everything I could find on the Shanghai Deal and you're due to chair the Phi-Corp executive board at four o'clock," she told him, handing him a stack of files.

"Thanks, Janet," he smiled at her, taking the documents.

"Stuart, is everything alright? You don't seem happy."

"Everything's fine. We're living in miraculous times. I couldn't be happier. You shouldn't call me Stuart in the office."

She nodded, wincing, realizing she was being far too familiar with him, "Sorry...Mr. Owens."

He looked up when she headed out of the room, glancing at the TV on his wall, an interview with a local doctor, "Of course, suicide is impossible now," the doctor was saying, "But people are becoming inventive. They're finding ways to get as close to death as possible. That's the philosophy of the '45 Club,' people who believe that jumping from 45 floors up or higher is the only guaranteed way to lose consciousness forever. It's sick, but just the same, the 45 Club is catching on."

He glanced at the door, Janet disappearing behind it, and grabbed his phone, calling one of the numbers on the files, "Wai," a man answered, a distinct Chinese accent in his voice, "Who's calling, please?"

"It's Stuart Owens," he replied.

"How can I help you, sir?"

He glanced at the door, lowering his voice, "This must be strictly confidential. My eyes only. Is that acceptable?"

"Of course," Wai agreed.

He sighed, picking up a paper, looking at the information on it, "In 1999, a large parcel of land, near Shanghai Center, was purchased by a division of Phi-Corp. That's where the records end. I need to know exactly what's happened to the land since then."

"Phi-Corp construction?" Wai suggested.

"Not on paper. There are subsidiaries, shell companies."

"May I ask what this is about?"

"Do you need to know?" he countered.

"It could be of some help."

He rolled his eyes, "Of course, you are aware of the changes going on in the world."

"Yes. My uncle was dying. Now he's not."

"I'm trying to understand what happened, whether Phi-Corp had anything to do with it. I believe this construction site is key."

"I asked my uncle what happened. He told me to never question a miracle. You may not like what you find."

"He may be right. Call me back in a few hours," and with that, he hung up the phone.

~8~

Across the world a young Asian man, Wai, quietly and carefully made his way to a Phi-Corp location, tracking a request made by an American. Usually he wouldn't have bothered, but this was too suspicious to pass up, and he could see how the supposed Miracle was affecting the world, where it was heading. Anything he could do to stop it, he would do. He looked around, reaching a gate, and slipped inside…

~8~

Wai pulled out his phone that night, seeming dazed as he called out.

"Wai?" a voice with a distinct American accent answered, the voice of Mr. Owens.

"It's me. You told me to call back."

"Yes. What did you find?"

"A dead end," he swallowed.

"What do you mean? What are they building?"

"There's nothing there," he blinked, tears in his eyes as he began to walk, "I looked. I found nothing, nothing at all. Goodbye, Mr. Owens."

He closed his phone and threw his arms out, letting himself fall off the 45th floor of a building.

~8~

The 5 members of the Torchwood team was silent and solemn as they gathered in the beach house. Tosh was sitting on the armchair, Owen on the armrest, his arm around her as she looked down, solemn and devastated. Ianto stood behind the sofa, a remote in his hand as they looked at the TV, watching the recording he'd made of the modules. The only noise in the room being his voice and the recording, and the sound of someone sniffling.

He glanced down to see Jack sitting on the sofa, looking down at Angel as she laid across it, her head resting on his lap, her eyes on the video even though they were red from the tears she'd cried earlier. Jack gently ran a hand through her hair, trying to calm her down, trying to comfort her.

Of everything they'd seen, some of which had been truly disgusting and disturbing, this was worse. This wasn't alien, this was _human_ , this was human beings burning each other alive. And that was enough to make all of them sick and solemn. None more so than Angel, to have to see it.

 _That_ was what Ianto had seen in the module, the bodies crying out in pain as they were burned, fire around them. It was hard to watch, hard to bear, they'd tried to get Angel to go into another room, but she'd just said she was there, she knew what was happening in the modules.

Seeing it was just…harder for her, but she was a part of the team.

Jack moved his hand to her shoulder, squeezing it as the image finally stopped and cut back to Ianto, sitting in the car as Owen drove him and Angel back to the house.

"You don't know who I am, you don't need to know. All you need to know is that I'm Torchwood. We're going to expose everything that's happened in the San Pedro Overflow Camp, in all the overflow camps in the world. Everything that you've just seen…that's what they do to the Category 1s. The modules built in the camps were made for only one purpose, incineration. At first it'll be the Category 1s, but we know where it'll go. Where it always goes, to convicted felons or illegal immigrants, to anyone who would try to stop them or protest. If we can't stop this Miracle, everyone will end up here eventually. Everyone gets sick, everyone will keep growing older, and the ovens will be waiting for all of us. Unless we can stop it."

The image cut to static as they looked at each other, not sure what to do.

"We need to stop them," Angel whispered.

Jack nodded, squeezing her arm again, "We will, I swear Angie, we will."

"How?" Ianto looked at them.

"What do we do next?" Owen had to agree.

"I think I might be able to help," Tosh cut in, "While you were out there, I was hacking into the Phi-Corp database."

"I thought the security was too good," Jack frowned.

"Not the security," Tosh shook her head, "The people, the CEOs and other heads."

"It's never about security, it's about the people," Angel agreed, taking a breath and sitting up, "What did you find?"

Tosh pulled a laptop over and spun it around to show them a series of emails she'd discovered from a Mr. Owens to his 'secretary.'

Jack smirked, that was just the leverage they needed to get information.

You gotta love a scandal.

~8~

"Dr. Patel?" Gwen made her way through the warehouse, now more determined than ever to get her father out, Gray with her to make sure she didn't get them thrown out entirely, "Are you Dr. Alicia Patel?"

An Indian woman looked up at her, "I'm sorry, can it wait?"

"No, listen, you've got to change this paperwork," she handed her the chart she'd taken from her father's bed, "There's been a mistake. It's about my father. Geraint Wyn Cooper, he's been placed in Category 1, but he's not that bad, I swear. I've seen him, he's just unconscious."

"It's debatable. There's a fine line between Category 1 and 2."

"But you _saw_ him. You labeled him. There's definitely been a mistake."

"I'm just following the government guidelines."

"Can't you just take another look?" Gray frowned.

"If I did that, I'd have to do it for everyone. We're under enough pressure as it is."

"I understand," Gwen swallowed, trying to stay calm, "But..." she took a breath, "Sorry, listen. You...you _have_ to change this, ok? They move the Category 1s at 6am. They'll take him to the module."

"Sorry, not my department."

"Really?" she scoffed, "Is that so? Do you even know what your department is, Dr. Patel? Do you even know what really happens here?"

"Do you know what happens in the module?" Gray added.

"Like I said, I'm rather busy," she waved them off.

"They _burn_ people," Gray hissed, feeling sick at the thought that she was being so cavalier about it all.

He'd been burned before. The aliens who had him captive had been…inventive…their technology fearsome in healing, but only so that they could have pristine prisoners to play with again. He'd been burned alive at times, his limbs specifically, healed, just so he could be burned again. He knew what that was like, the agony, and this human, this human that Angel had so much faith in, was just talking like it was someone getting a paper cut!

"They burn _living_ people! The Category 1s are still alive and they're being _burnt_."

"This place has been built around institutional murder," Gwen added quietly.

"I'm not the one who makes the rules," the doctor defended.

"No, you're just the one who enforces them, aren't you?" Gray sneered.

Gwen blinked, realizing what Gray had, "You _knew_ about this?"

"Category 1s are dead," the woman turned to them, speaking in hushed tones, more patients around them, "That's the law. Under the emergency rulings for the sake of public health, dead bodies can be incinerated en masse."

Gray shook his head, "Have you ever been burned before doctor? Hmm? Are you actually in those modules when they're turned on? Or how about the one flipping the switch?"

"No," Gwen answered for her, "You're here. You're nice and safe, hidden behind your paperwork."

"You don't have the nerve to actually watch them burning," Gray told her, a dangerous, dark note in his voice that reminded Gwen of everything he'd endured, of the man he'd been before Angel had helped him, "Because then you'd have to face the truth that this isn't a hospital at all, it's a concentration camp."

"If you'll excuse me..." the woman swallowed, turning away from him.

"They built a concentration camp here in Britain today and you are one of the staff!" Gwen accused.

"The entire healthcare system is about to collapse. What else am I supposed to do?"

"Say NO," Gray told her.

Gwen nodded, "You say no. You say no, _that's_ what you do. For the love of God, you say no."

"But I _can't_ …" she tried to defend herself.

"Don't you _dare_ ," Gwen cut in, "Don't you dare. Don't you dare look at me and tell me you're obeying orders. Don't you bloody dare."

"Come on Gwen," Gray put a hand on her shoulder, "There's no getting through to someone like her," and turned her away, pausing to throw back, "You might want to find a different profession _when_ this ends," he warned the woman, "You'll _never_ be able to call yourself a doctor again."

And with that, he turned and followed Gwen back through the warehouse to the back door, where the lorries were parked, to see Rhys pacing, "Rhys!" she gasped, hugging him.

"Oh, my God," he shook his head, looking completely shocked, "I was driving them to the module! I was driving people into the ovens!"

"You didn't know," Gray put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it to reassure him.

"I can't do it," Rhys swallowed, "I'm gonna quit and..."

"Not just yet," Gwen cut in, "I need you to do one more transfer for me. My dad. We're taking him out."

"We can't. The compound's closed down. No more movement orders till 6am."

"I know, Rhys! That's when they'll take my father to his death!"

"Look," Gray cut in, remaining calm, calmer than he had been inside, knowing he needed to be calm now, more for Gwen than anything, "Rhys," he turned to him, taking charge, "Steal some keys and get a hold of a lorry. Gwen," he looked at her, "We'll get your dad out, on a stretcher this time," he added, "Slide him into the back and get out. ok?" he looked between them.

"Got it," Rhys nodded.

"Good, the nurses change over at 5am," he continued, "That's our only chance," he looked at Gwen, "We'll get him Gwen, I swear. We can do this. We can beat the system. We can beat them all. Ok?"

And in that moment, looking at Gray, Gwen didn't see Gray, the man who had tried to murder her friend and destroy her city, she didn't see the broken man trying to make amends. No…she just saw Jack, his little brother, Angel's older brother, trying to help.

She nodded, "Ok."

Gray nodded, not knowing that, in that one moment, Gwen had forgiven him.

~8~

Jack and Angel entered a lovely, upscale restaurant, looking around for their target. Angel nudged Jack and nodded to the bar, leading him over to a lovely black woman in a rather nice dress sitting there alone.

"Janet Tanner," Jack smiled as he came to sit beside her, Angel standing between them.

Janet blinked and looked at him, opening her mouth.

"You don't know him," Angel answered before she could as, "Or me, Angel, nice to meet you," she introduced.

"You work at Phi-Corp?" Janet eyed them.

"Not exactly," Jack smirked, "You don't know us, but we know you. Your name is Janet Rae Tanner," he began, listening to Tosh reciting the information she'd found over his earpiece, "You're 27 years old, 5'9", 119 lbs. The youngest daughter of Gerald and Elaine Tanner of Nantucket, Massachusetts. You moved to California to attend college where you earned a bachelor's degree in art history. You currently reside in a Westwood apartment. You go to the gym three times a week. And you drive your Hybrid downtown every day to an administrative assistant position at Phi-Corp industries."

"And you're some creepy stalker dude last seen on America's Most Wanted," Janet countered.

"I may be wanted," he grinned, "But it's not what you think."

"Listen, I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but I'm meeting someone."

"After dinner with his wife," Angel blinked, startling the woman.

"One of my associates came across some e-mails from you to your boss, Stuart Owens," he scoffed, pulling out his phone, reading the emails, "'Can't wait to see you.' Nice. Then 'Happy Valentine's Day.' Sweet! Then a little less subtle. 'You can so do me tonight.' Ouch!"

"What do you want?" Janet tensed.

"We just need your help to meet him Janet," Angel reached out and put a hand on her arm, "Our friends are in danger, all of you are, because of this Miracle. We think Phi-Corp is doing something bad to people and we need to stop it. We need to find out who's behind it."

"Please," Janet whispered, "You can't tell anybody about us."

"We won't," she crossed her hearts, Jack smiling as he watched her work her magic on the girl, "I promise, we just need your help in getting him to talk to us."

"I wouldn't do anything to hurt him," she shook her head.

"Sweet Janet Rae," Jack sighed, "I wish he felt the same about you. I'm sending you some more e-mails from Stuart Owens to the head of Phi-Corp Human Resources," he tapped his phone, "Requesting your transfer to Cincinnati! Woo hoo! He's _such_ a romantic."

Janet looked at her phone as it beeped, her eyes widening as she saw the messages, "Bastard!"

"I like the bit where he calls you 'limited.'"

"Limited?"

"So, what do you say, Janet? We could sit here drinking appletinis and complaining about men all night. Or we can go get that Phi-Corp boss of yours."

"Will you help us?" Angel asked.

"Count me in," she nodded.

~8~

Jack and Angel walked through the restaurant area, spotting Mr. Owens and his wife having dinner, "Well, I suppose I should have the salad…" his wife was saying.

"I'd go for the steak if I were you," Jack cut in, "With a very large bourbon and a pack of cigarettes. Why not? We're going to live forever, right?" he glanced at Owens, "Courtesy of Phi-Corp."

"Excuse me, I think you're at the wrong table," Owens glared at him.

"You're Stuart Owens," Angel shook her head, "The COO for Phi-Corp Industries, so we're at the right table then."

"You know me then," he eyed them, "The question is, who are you?"

"Friends of Janet's," Angel smiled.

Jack chuckled at that, leave it to Angel to make another friend in the middle of a crisis, "Your secretary? We met at a bar, the one you were planning on going to after dinner," he leaned in, whispering, "Does your wife know?"

"Elizabeth..." Owens turned to her as she got up and stormed out, getting the hidden meaning in Jack's words.

" _Don't_ go after her," Jack warned the man as he stood, "Or we'll hurt her. My associates are holding Janet hostage. You need proof?" he grabbed his phone and dialed, handing it to the man.

"Hello? Who's there?"

"Help," Janet gasped, "Help me!"

"Janet, where are you?"

"I don't know. I'm in a cellar. They've got me tied up. They're hurting me, Stuart. Make them stop."

Owens's jaw tensed as he looked at them, "What exactly do you want?"

Jack just plucked the phone back, "I'll let you know when it's safe to release her."

"Go get him," Janet told him, ending the call, having only been playing along.

"We want the truth," Angel told him, moving to sit down at the table with Jack.

"Which is why Angie's here," Jack smirked, "Don't bother lying, she can tell when you are," he leaned in to whisper, "Psychic."

Owens rolled his eyes, not believing that she was psychic, but knowing that she was at least a good reader of body language to tell if someone was lying, "About what?"

"The Miracle," Angel began, "How exactly did it happen? Why did it happen? How do we stop it?"

"Why would I have the answer?"

"When the day came, Phi-Corp was ready," Jack told him, "We found warehouses stocked with painkillers waiting for the Miracle to come along."

" _That's_ your smoking gun?" he laughed.

"You're a man in charge. You knew it was coming."

"Mr.…" he eyed them.

"Harkness. _Captain_ Jack Harkness."

"Are you with the military?"

"Freelance. I represent the people who are trying to stop Phi-Corp."

"So that security breach on the 33rd floor..." he frowned, thinking of the minor explosion.

"That was us."

"And an assassin," Angel added so the man wouldn't think they were terrorists who had blown up the room.

"It's not me you're after," Owens sat back in his chair, "In fact, I've been trying to find out the truth just as much as you. I'm not...a bad man, Mr. Harkness."

"Captain," Angel corrected.

"I'm not a bad man, Captain," he amended, "I'm not a good one, either. I'm a middleman, in every sense of the word. And faced with the thought of being who I am for God knows how long, I'm just as keen as you to find out exactly what's going on. Especially with the stock market threatening to collapse, a man like me needs insurance," he eyed Jack, seeing him frowning, "You don't believe me. You think I'm the epitome of evil, the devil in a three-piece suit…"

"In my experience, that's how it works," Jack remarked.

"Your experience must be rather simple. You have a rather archaic view of good versus evil, don't you?"

"He's telling the truth Jack," Angel sighed, "He really _doesn't_ know. He wants it over as much as we do."

Jack eyed him, "What have you found out so far then?"

The man looked at Jack, seemingly a bit startled he'd given in so easily and believed the girl, "I've sent agents all over the world following the paper trail, the backroom deals, the holding companies within holding companies. That's when I came face-to-face with the true face of evil."

"The system itself."

"Precisely. If the schemes and conspiracies are being plotted, then they must be seen only as patterns, waves...shifts that are either too small or too vast to be perceived. Someone is playing the system, right across planet Earth, with infinite grace beyond any one person's sight. No, I'm sorry, Captain, but Phi-Corp isn't controlling this. Profiting, yes, but this is part of a much larger design, way beyond any of us."

"But how can you be part of it and not know what's going on?"

"Let me give you an example. These warehouses full of drugs, no doubt you'd love to uncover an incriminating memo dated the day before Miracle Day, signed by me, authorizing the stockpiling of painkillers. The truth is, a pattern like that began, say, maybe five years with the systematic increase in production in random factories around the world, based on market share projections. Where was the warehouse?"

"Washington DC, 3rd and Boston."

"I'd imagine transportation of the drugs to the 3rd and Boston was then carried out over a 12-month period by maybe five different haulage companies outsourced to seven or eight different independent suppliers. So that means everyone's to blame, everyone and no one. Whoever is behind this, they don't show themselves. Not to me, not to you. But to play the system like this the markets, the politics, industry...they had to be planning this for a very long time. I WISH I knew who they were."

Jack glanced at Angel a moment, when she nodded, and he turned back to the man, deeming him trustworthy enough to ask this, "We were told that the Miracle involves geography. Does that mean anything?"

"No," he sighed, "But there is one word that my operatives picked up dating back to the mid 90s, and then erased."

"The Blessing?" Angel guessed, thinking of the second word she'd heard in her first vision, her stomach twisting at the mention of it.

The man looked at her, shocked, "Yes…"

"What does it mean?" Jack looked between them, Angel could only shrug.

"There was a document from Italy from a source inside the Council of Ministers, a contact then deceased. It simply referred to 'the Blessing.' It said 'They have found the Blessing.'"

"Jack," Angel cut in, a hand on his arm, "We need to go, now."

He looked over, seeing two security guards in the distance making their way up the stairs towards the restaurant.

He nodded, getting up, "We'll be in touch," he told the man before he led Angel out, "What do you think?" he asked her.

"I think the brownies looks delicious," she remarked.

He looked over, laughing when he saw a desert cart with cakes and cookies and pastries and brownies on them. He reached out as they passed, snatching a plate of brownies off it and handing it to her, smiling as she beamed and began to munch on them, eating every single one of them by the time they'd reached the car.

"Jack..." Angel called as they got in, he looked at her to see her smile had faded, "Can I borrow your phone?"

He nodded, handing it over without question.

~8~

Rhys pulled up to a check point within the complex, stopping when a guard motioned for him to, rolling the window down, "Patient transfer at this time of night?" the guard asked.

"I just do what I'm told," Rhys shrugged.

"Exactly what were you told?"

"Patient transfer, 5am."

"Who told you this?"

"My supervisor, who else?" Rhys laughed.

"What's his name?"

"Well…" he floundered a moment, "He's got more authority than you, mate. He's a captain. Captain Jack Harkness. He ordered me."

"That's a bit odd. I don't see a Harkness on our roster. I'd better make some calls…"

"Oh, God!" Rhys murmured to himself as the guard turned away and pulled out his phone, swallowing hard, hoping he wouldn't be found out.

~8~

"Not long now, dad," Gwen whispered as she and Gray gathered by her father, her beside him, holding his hand as Gray worked on unlocking the wheels so they could get the man out fast enough, "I promise," she looked back at the path to the back, "Hell to pay, Rhys Williams, if you don't show. Hell to pay."

"I'll help," Gray murmured.

~8~

"Can I go now?" Rhys asked as the guard walked back to him.

"I don't understand. They've stopped movement orders until 6am, but you've been given special instructions. Why's that, then?"

"Yeah, well, this Captain Harkness must have taken a shine to me. He had that look about him, if you know what I mean. Not that there's anything wrong with that…" he glanced at the radio clock, "Oh, look at the time. I'm late enough as it is."

"I need to make another call," the guard held up a finger and turned away again, on the phone once more.

Rhys waited a moment longer before flooring it and driving right into the complex.

~8~

Gwen looked over as two patient movers passed, "A boatload of Category 2s arrived in Cardiff last night," one was saying, "One of those cruise ships full of British citizens from abroad. All sick as dogs."

"Hell of a state," the second groaned.

"Expelled from Europe like boat people."

"Last thing we need is more patients."

The man sighed, "Come on, we've got to get these Cat 1s ready for transport."

Gwen looked at Gray, who checked his watch and nodded, "Alright, dad," she whispered to him, "We're getting you out of here now."

Gray moved behind the bed and began to push it through the back aisles, Gwen rushing ahead to open the locked door outside, where Rhys pulled up a few moments later.

"Where the hell were you?!" Gwen hissed as Rhys jumped out to help Gray load the man into the back.

"I was on time," Rhys defended, opening the back, "Only this officious bastard held me up."

"You could have run him over," Gray remarked, Gwen actually nodding along with that.

"I'm not the run-over type. I drove off when the silly bugger was on the phone."

Gray sighed, "Which means he's likely followed you."

"Hurry," Gwen told them.

Rhys moved across from Gray, "One, two, three!" they lifted the legs of the bed and slid the man into the back of the lorry.

"Get going," Gwen told Rhys, "Take dad home," she added, "There's something Gray and I've got to do here before we go to the States."

"You're going _back_ to America?" Rhys frowned.

"We need to find out what's behind this," Gray explained, "And stop it."

"Before we do," Gwen looked at the modules, "We haven't finished with this place yet."

"That's him!" they heard someone shouting, Rhys looking over to see the guard rushing towards them with two others, "That's him!"

Gwen grabbed his arm as he turned to head back into the lorry, "Hey, hey, hey. Where's my goodbye kiss, you big fool?"

Rhys leaned in and kissed her quickly.

"Now?" Gray shook his head at them, "You want to do that _now_?"

Gwen sighed, pulling away, "Get going," she urged him as he ran for the cabin and started the lorry.

"Now you hold it right there!" the man shouted, "Get me the south gate!"

They ducked back, watching as Rhys drove off, using the distraction of the guards to sneak back into the facility.

Rhys swallowed, seeing them closing the south gate and shook his head, "Here we go," he murmured, before pressing the gas and driving right through the gate, cheering as he made it out into the night.

And then his phone rang…

He looked down at it with a frown and answered, "Jack, what is it?" he asked, blinking, not hearing Jack but...

"Angel?"

~8~

"Jack!" Tosh shouted when the contact lens cameras flickered on on the laptop beside her, "It's Gwen!"

The team and Angel gathered around her, watching as Gwen appeared in a mirror, Gray behind her, "Hello. Anybody home?"

-You're a sight for sore eyes- Jack leaned in and typed.

"Jack, is that you?"

-All of us- Tosh answered, -You ok?-

"Yes," she smiled, "And we'll be there soon," she glanced at Gray and back to the mirror, "We're coming back to the fight."

Gray moved beside her, speaking so that they could see him, "But there's something we need to do first," he held up some detonation putty, "Something we need to show the world."

"Record it for us?"

-You got it- Tosh smiled.

They watched as Gwen and Gray snuck to the modules, sticking the putty and wires and detonators to the side of it before rushing to where the vehicles of the nurses and doctors were sitting, stealing a bike, Gray getting on the front, Gwen behind him.

"You watching?" Gwen looked at Gray as he spoke over his shoulder.

-Yes- Tosh typed, -Radio link open. Make your message.-

Gwen nodded and started to speak, "This is the truth for the whole world to see. We let our governments build concentration camps. They built ovens for people in our names. Now I don't care if the whole of society bends over and takes this like a dog, we're saying, 'No!'"

She patted Gray's shoulder and he pressed a button, all of them watching as the modules exploded just as the sun started to rise.

~8~

The next morning the Torchwood Team and Angel sat in the sitting room, watching the news. They had sent out the video of the modules and the San Pedro camp and the footage from Gwen, broadcast it to the world, and the world had reacted.

Angel curled up on the sofa with a tea in hand, Tosh eyeing the green tag hanging from it, decaf, before glancing at her own green tag as opposed to the red tags the men had, caffeinated. The men were standing around them, all watching the news intently.

"Flesh can burn," a government official was saying on the news, trying to defend the camps, "That's the stark truth facing the world today. We've known since Miracle Day that flesh can still burn…"

"But today there's outrage..." a reporter continued as their own footage of the modules and what was being done appeared.

"We did it," Jack nodded, "We're whistle-blowers. Every major news organization. The world knows the truth now. Let the outrage begin."

Angel frowned though and shook her head, seeing the footage, "I don't think it'll be that simple."

And then, the report continued with the official, "There will be no apology for the Category 1 process. We exist in a permanent state of emergency. The White House stands by our disaster response as appropriate and as sanctioned by Congress. This is exactly what we would do in times of a famine or a plague or pestilence…"

"You're _kidding_ me," Owen scoffed, "They should be shutting those camps now. And they're just _talking_ about it."

"At least we made it public," Ianto said.

"We've never had to fight politicians on this scale before," Tosh agreed.

"We need to look at the bigger picture," Angel murmured.

Jack nodded, "We need to find out what 'the Blessing' is."

~8~

Gwen sighed as she and Gray walked through the airport terminal, back in the States, "Hello, I'm not available, but leave your name and number and I'll call you as soon as I can," Rhys's answer phone picked up for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Rhys, it's me again. I've landed. I'm back in LA. Where are you, you bloody fool? Why aren't you picking up the phone? Call me back."

"Everything ok?" Gray looked at her.

Before she could even answer a call came over the speakers, "Gwen Cooper to the white courtesy phone. Gwen Cooper, you have a call. Gwen Cooper to the white courtesy phone. Gwen Cooper, you have a call."

She frowned and looked around.

"There," Gray pointed, spotting one and they rushed over to the white phone stuck to the wall.

"This is Gwen Cooper," she answered, "Hello, this is Gwen Cooper. You said I had a message?"

"Lenses," came a raspy reply.

"What?" she stiffened, "What did you just say?"

"Lenses."

Gwen looked at Gray, alarmed, as she hung up the phone, "They want me to put the lenses on."

Gray looked around, not sure what to do, he doubted that anyone would let him into the restroom with her and he wasn't about to leave her alone, "Come on," he took her hand and led her off to a quiet corner, digging in his pack for a small mirror.

"You are _so_ a Harkness," she muttered as he held it up to her, letting her unscrew the cases and slip them in, blinking a bit.

"Well?" he asked, "Anything?"

She shook her head a moment, before tensing as a mesage appeared.

-We have your mother.-

"No…" she breathed, her eyes wide.

-We have your husband.-

"W-Who..." she started shaking, "Who are you?"

-We have your child.-

"What do you want?!" she hissed.

-Bring us Jack.-

Gwen let out a breath, grabbing the mirror and pushing it down.

"What is it?" Gray frowned.

Gwen shook her head, "They have my family," she breathed, looking at him with tears in her eyes, "They won't give them back until…"

"Until what?" he asked, but she was silent, "What do they want Gwen?"

"Jack. They want me to give them Jack."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no! Jack! :( I hope, for those who have seen Miracle Day, that the changes made are ok. Lol, I think a huge chunk of episode 6 was removed since, with Angel there and warning Owen about Maloney, that the incident with Vera wouldn't have happened to him and that Ianto wouldn't have been captured like Rex. I think of the start of the modules in the San Pedro camp as 'to schedule' once the module was full, just to explain why they started up :)
> 
> But awww, brotherly moments with Angel :) And we also saw a little bit of the Vortex as a slightly offensive and defensive thing here with Angel using it to push the man away. Lol, I don't think she meant to literally throw him into the wall but just hadn't ever pushed someone away with it before and used a little too much :) And I hope Gray's development makes a little sense, how Gwen wanted him to go with her and why. I think Gwen would really be the second most likely to have a hard time forgiving Gray for what he did (Owen being the most likely) and that this was needed for her to finally forgive him for what happened. I doubt Owen will ever forgive him for shooting Tosh, but I wanted to show that he's really making an effort and has really come to care for the team :)
> 
> And yay! Angel starting to take a little more charge now, starting to get used to doing things on her own and believing in herself again :) Trusting herself :) That's a good step isn't it? :) I can say there's a scene at the end of the last chapter of the crossover that will REALLY help her get back to a semi-good place :)


	32. Miracle Day: The Families

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is going to start with taking things just slightly out of order than the last 4 episodes of Miracle Day, mostly involving Jack's past with Angelo. I'll condense a lot of it and explain it more when we hear about the man, I'm hoping it might make things a bit easier to follow where it comes in. I'm going to format them more like the Doctor's memory-flashes and only have a few of them, just so you know :) 
> 
> Warning: This episode of Torchwood contains references to a pedophile, mentions of past rape, and past murder. This comes about mostly when Oswald Danes is mentioned and when scenes involving him occur.

Gwen was striding through the airport, Gray rushing after her as he tried to calm her down. But she was a woman on a mission, her phone in hand, calling her house instead of Rhys's mobile, "Rhys, call me, ok? Mum, if you can, call me, ok?"

-Keep the lenses in,- she saw flash before her, -We are watching.-

"Gwen!" Gray caught up to her, grabbing her arm, "Gwen, hold on…"

"I can't!" she shouted, rounding on him, "They've got my daughter!"

And with that, she turned and stormed away, Gray shaking his head before rushing after her, trying to dissuade her from doing anything rash.

~8~

Owen stretched as he entered the sitting room to see Tosh on the laptop, at the table, Angel and Ianto talking quietly on the sofa, while Jack was on the phone in the kitchen.

"How many views have we got now?" Owen walked over to Tosh, dropping a kiss on her head as he saw her looking at their posting of the footage from the camps.

"Not enough," she sighed.

"They'll have to shut down the camps," Ianto nodded, there was no way the people would stand for that.

"No," Owen sighed, "It just says they're paused for now. The politicians are denying it all, but the camps still exist, with their ovens."

"Please," Angel called quietly, "Please don't talk about the ovens."

"Sorry," Owen murmured, wincing. Of all of them, Angel was the most upset by what they'd seen.

Actually, she seemed the most upset in general, she seemed more concerned, more worried, more fearful, than she had been last time. Almost like how someone had turned up the dial on life, someone else had turned up the dial on her emotions. But then again, Angel was just a kind soul, they could understand her being more upset to about it all. They were well aware of the cruelty humans could show, Angel always hoped for the best.

"Jack!" Gwen shouted, rushing into the house.

"Gwen, you're back!" Tosh smiled.

"Why didn't you call ahead?" Ianto frowned.

"We could have picked you up," Owen agreed, none of them noticing Angel look at her closely.

"Where's Jack?" she demanded.

"Right here," Jack entered from the next room, the phone to his ear, frowning when he saw her frantic state, "What's wrong?"

"You've got to come down to the car," Gwen began, "I've got to show you someth…"

"Don't!" Gray ran in, "Jack don't."

"Jack I just…"

"Jack, don't listen to her!"

"I'm just trying to sa..."

"Don't you dare Gwen!"

"Gwen?" Angel called quietly, cutting through Gray and Gwen's shouting over each other. They looked at her and she glanced at them, before putting her hand in front of her mouth, "What happened?" she asked the woman, getting up and moving before her.

"Why are you doing that Ang?" Jack looked at her in concern.

Gwen blinked rapidly, tears in her eyes, "It's the contacts, they're in them," she breathed.

Tosh's eyes widened and she frantically began typing on the software, hacking in, gasping when she saw the messages that had been left, "Oh my God!"

"What is it?" Jack looked at them.

Gray sighed as Gwen closed her eyes and started to cry, "They've got Anwen and Rhys and her mother. They said they'd let them go if she gave them you."

"They don't have them Gwen," Jack shook his head.

"They do," Gwen looked at him, "I phoned 100 times. There's no reply. They've got them and…"

Jack just handed her the phone at his shoulder.

Gwen frowned, but took it, "Hello?"

"Gwen," Rhys answered.

Gwen nearly fell to the ground in relief, sagging against the sofa as Angel ran to her side, putting an arm around her, "Rhys?" she whispered.

"And Anwen, and your mum and dad," Rhys replied.

"Why didn't you answer your phone you stupid ba…"

"Oi, you're on speaker Gwen, and Anwen's right here!"

Gwen took a breath, "Why didn't you answer?"

"Had to switch phones didn't I? You call that number and they'd be able to trace me. Jack said he'd give you the new number once you got in."

"How did you even escape?" Gwen wondered.

"Angel called me just after I left with your dad."

Gwen looked at the girl as she smiled, mouthing 'Thank you' to her as she nodded.

"Told me not to go back to the flat, said to head to the Hub instead. She called your mum too to get her and Anwen out, they were there waiting when I got there. Had that access you gave me and…"

"You're ok then?" Gwen cut in, not needing details, just needing to know they were safe. Torchwood, especially after all the break ins and other facilities trying to get in was like a fortress now. Only those with clearance could enter. And it was under the government's protection so no one from America would be able to force their way in on that ground either. If they were there, if they were inside, they were safe.

"Right as rain," he laughed, "And don't worry I've ordered your mum not to touch anything, and I'm keeping Anwen in her play area so she won't be near the equipment."

She let out a breath, "Thank God."

"You just focus on what you're doing Gwen," Rhys encouraged her, "We've got your dad set up in the medical area, we're monitoring him and we've got food and water and we're safe. You stay safe too."

"I will," she swore, "I promise. We'll stop this and I'll come home."

"Good," he told her, "I've got to go, Anwen's getting fussy and needs to sleep."

She laughed, "Kiss her for me," she whispered, "Bye."

"Bye," he ended the call and Gwen looked at them for only a moment before half throwing herself at Angel and hugging her tightly.

"I don't know what I'd do without you watching over my family," she whispered in the girl's ear.

"Of course," Angel nodded, hugging her back, "Anwen's as good as my niece isn't she?" she laughed, pulling away, wiping the tears that had fallen off of Gwen's cheeks with her thumbs, "Everything will be fine," she eyed her a moment before looking at Jack, "Is it alright if I talk to the lenses?"

Jack grinned, gesturing at Gwen, "Be my guest."

They'd kept in contact with Martha and UNIT before she'd quit, he'd heard about how she'd negotiated calmly and peacefully with the Sontarans. Even if peace hadn't been reached, those were warriors, whoever claimed to have taken Gwen's family were humans.

Angel nodded and looked at Gwen, "Is that ok Gwen?"

She nodded, "Give 'em hell."

Angel smiled and took a breath, "You lied to Gwen," she began.

"There's a cursor," Gwen told her, "They're listening."

"You don't have her family, I got them out. And I don't appreciate lying. If you want Jack, you either have to come and get him, which won't be easy with the team," she nodded behind her and Gwen glanced at Gray, Ianto, Tosh, and Owen who all looked ready to murder someone for the fright she'd been dealt, and then to Jack, smirking confidently, winking at her, and back to Angel, "Or…we can talk this out peacefully," she eyed the contacts, "Have you ever heard of me? The Angel?"

Gwen blinked, -We have- and nodded.

"I know you want to talk to Jack, that's why you wanted Gwen to bring him to you. You don't want to hurt anyone," Gwen scoffed at that, "But trying to upset Gwen wasn't the way to do it. You were using it as a way to make contact yes?"

-Yes-

Gwen nodded again.

"We'll you've made it. We're listening, but you need to listen too. Communication is two ways. You want to talk, we want to listen. Tell us where and when and we'll come to you."

The team stiffened at that.

"And we can talk. If you can promise that, just talking, we'll come on peaceful terms."

Gwen was silent a long while before…

-Nevada-

She frowned, "They said, Nevada."

"Where?" Jack asked.

"Nothing," Gwen said after a moment.

"Maybe they'll give us more when we get to the border?" Tosh suggested.

"Only one way to find out," Jack grinned, "Road trip!"

The team rolled their eyes at that before getting up to pack their things, not about to leave any of them or their equipment lingering in California. If someone was willing to go after Gwen's family, or try to get Jack as a hostage, they wouldn't hesitate to come after all of them. Ianto had worried that they would go after his niece and nephew, his sister, after Angel had called Rhys, and called them as well, just to be safe, they'd gone to stay with the in-laws for extra protection.

"Angie," Jack turned to her, pointing at her, "The best asset in the Universe," he winked at her.

She smiled, that hadn't had anything to do with her abilities, not really, that was just…her trying to get through to the humans. And she'd done it. She started to nod to herself, maybe she was an asset in other ways…maybe, just being her, made her special enough.

~8~

"…and allegations continue to surface about procedures at the new medical facilities," the radio played as the Torchwood team sat quietly in the van following the instructions on Gwen's contacts through the streets of a small, though seemingly prosperous, Nevada town, "But Oswald Danes has released a statement in which he says that a global emergency calls for emergency measures and he advocated a swift return to the category policy."

"This the place?" Jack asked as he pulled the van up to a rather large house, clearly the property of someone very wealthy.

Tosh nodded, looking at the laptop on her lap, "According to the map yeah."

"Gwen?" he looked at her.

-Step out,- came up.

She nodded, "This is it."

"Show time," Jack murmured as they all got out of the car, Jack and Gray in the front with Gwen between them. Owen to Gray's right with Tosh beside him, between Gray and Gwen, with Owen beside her, and Angel on the other side of Jack, just waiting.

"Angel…" Owen looked at her.

She nodded, "I've got it," she glanced down at her hand, a soft swirl of gold around it.

If this was an ambush, if her feelings were off about this being a peaceful meeting, if they were about to be fired on…she could protect them. And she would protect them, no matter what.

They watched as the front door to the mansion opened and a woman in a short-sleeved dress stepped out, short brown hair, looking about Gwen's age, and…quite familiar to Jack if he had to say.

"Know her?" Gray glanced at Jack, but he could only shake his head.

"Thank you for coming," the woman greeted, coming to step before them, glancing at Jack, "Captain Harkness, the last mortal man. It has been a long journey."

"Get to the point," Gwen cut in, still on edge about her family nearly being used as bait. Ianto and Jack had had the right idea keeping their families out of Torchwood's business. Alice and Stephen were still in witness protection, nothing about them could be traced back to Jack in a familiar sense, UNIT, Torchwood, and the government making sure to cover that up. Ianto took extreme measures to protect his sister and her children since the 456 incident, only really talking to them via webcam that Tosh had hooked up for him, using an image shifter that Gray had brought back from his travels to go see them under the guise of an old great-uncle till he was in the house.

But her family was one of the few that could be traced right to her, anyone would know that, and someone had tried to use it against her. That was not a good thing in her book.

The woman nodded, "Then I think you had better come inside."

Jack held up a hand, more to stop the woman turning around than to signal his team not to follow, "Why would we do that?" he eyed the house, for all they knew it was a trap.

"It's not a trap," Angel told him quietly, able to sense that.

"No," the woman agreed, "Inside that house…is the one man who knows how the Miracle began."

"And who's that?" Owen asked, crossing his arms.

But the woman looked at Jack, "Angelo. Angelo Colasanto."

"What?" Jack blinked, the team eyeing him as he stiffened.

"He's waiting for you, Jack. He's been waiting for such a very long time."

Ianto looked at Jack, not jealous, but genuinely curious and confused, "Jack, who's Angelo Colasanto?"

~8~

Angelo Colasanto was a name he hadn't heard in decades. Angelo Colasanto was a man he'd first met back in 1927, on Ellis Island when the man had stolen his passport off him and tried to pass himself off as Captain jack Harkness to gain access to New York. He'd discovered the man, of course, and gotten his documents returned, the documents claiming he was designated free passage by the British Consulate through the embassy in Rome. Angelo had been taken by the police, but there had been…something about the man that intrigued him.

And it had nothing to do with his name being like Angel's but with an o at the end. He hadn't even known the man's name when he'd gone to visit him in prison. As it turned out, Angelo had recognized that the visa was, in fact, forged, but hadn't said anything. He'd even got one-up on him by admitting he hadn't known for sure if it was forged till Jack had asked him how he knew. That had been another thing that drew him to the man. He was clever and adventurous, and a little bit pretty, he could have been in movies if he'd tried.

He had a red mark on his right eye as well. But it didn't take away from how gorgeous his eyes were. He'd learned a lot about Angelo just from meeting him in jail. He had a good eye for detail and made connections easily. Despite being Italian, his English had been nearly perfect, courtesy of a good school teacher back in his small village on the Amalfi Coast. He'd come to America, to New York, to meet new people, to escape his world of a little village of only 200 people, to see buildings taller than the cliffs that surrounded his village.

For a new life.

And that had been wonderful.

He hadn't met someone with that sort of…drive, with that amazement with the world around him since Angel. Angelo, in a way, reminded him quite a bit of her, to be honest. He was young and spirited, innocent and just a touch naïve, he'd thought the Fourth of July fireworks had been bombs. He looked at everything with wonder and appreciated all that he had. He never complained about the things the situations he found himself in and…he trusted him. He'd broken the man out of prison using the Vortex Manipulator to forge a passport for him as well, spooked the man a bit, yet, even after that, Angelo had trusted him, had even been curious as to how the Manipulator worked.

They'd gone to New York together, to Manhattan, and shared a small room…and an even smaller bed. That had been one of the most passionate romances of his life, before Ianto at least. Both men just seemed to know how to get to him. He could admit though, it was more of a physical attraction to Angelo as opposed to the love he did feel for Ianto. Ianto was quite the looker but he also had that inner strength that came from dealing with Torchwood and the strange that just…amazed him. He loved Ianto for his personality, his coffee, his style, his mind, everything.

Granted, he hadn't had time to truly get to know Angelo in that way. Their first night together, in a quaint little, cheap room, in Little Italy had been their first night together in that way too. It was a small, cramped, room, but Angelo hadn't complained, even offered to take the floor so their landlady wouldn't mind them sharing. He'd accidently let it slip that Angelo should save his money, given the Stock Market Crash that was coming in a few years, had even mentioned Torchwood. But, then again, Angelo, in his own way, had let it slip that he favored men as well, something he knew the man must have felt ashamed about given his religion and upbringing.

He'd learned more about it, about the man's life though, the longer they were together. Just…little details. He'd been bullied as a child, even his villagers suspecting his preference for men. Had had to learn to fight and defend himself, yet still saw good in others, still held firm to his religion despite his preferences. Though he desperately tried to hide that he was gay for self-preservation. Little Italy was a god-fearing town at the time.

Angelo had been scarred both physically and spiritually by his preference, he'd learned that at least. They had been in the middle of a Torchwood mission, not that Angelo was aware, sitting in the back of a church, watching a wedding, commenting on it. He'd thought it was great, he loved weddings, but Angelo had been more cynical about it, hadn't thought the couple would make it. He firmly believed that God had stopped listening to him for the things he did in secret with other men. Their discussion had been interrupted when he'd seen his target though, a priest who had access to the stores of sacramental wines.

It was prohibition in New York and men were desperate for their alcohol.

Well, that hadn't really been his mission, Torchwood wasn't getting involved in alcohol delivery in the States, no, it was about another man supplying alcohol that had them sending him across the ocean. He and Angelo had gone to the back with the priest, gotten the wine, and were about to leave, when the mob had gotten them, their leader, a Sal Maranzano, had almost had them killed. He'd kept his cool though, this was the man he'd been sent to find after all, he knew just what to say to get the man to wait. He'd given him a song and a dance about how he and Angelo could operate off the grid and not be traced back to him, how they could do whatever was needed.

Sal had caved almost immediately and tasked them with moving a box in a warehouse at Gallaco Wharf to another place. Not that he cared where the other place was, no, his orders were just to stop what was in the box. He'd been fully intent to send Angelo away after that, not wanting to have risked the man's life. If was one thing for him, not only was he immortal but he knew what he was getting into, Angelo had no idea at all what was waiting…

~oOo~

_Angelo stood by the window of their small flat, looking out it, until he noticed Jack gathering things around the room and putting them in a suitcase, "You're running away?"_

_"No," Jack answered._

_Angelo blinked, seeing exactly what items Jack had in his hand, "That's mine! What are you doing? You're packing my things!" he rushed over and tried to pull his shirt out of Jack's grip, but Jack wouldn't let go._

_"You need to go now. There's a plan…"_

_"And I'm not part of your plan?" Angelo frowned, grabbing Jack's hands to stop him, looking at them, "Look at your hands. Not a scar on them."_

_"I'm tougher than you. Maranzano's people have stumbled across something they're not supposed to have. I've got to stop them."_

_Angelo stared at him, the horrible truth dawning on him, "You made this happen? You've planned this!" all of it, the wine, the priest, how calm he'd been when the mob had been taking them, how he kept shouting to just let it happen, he KNEW about it, he'd WANTED it to happen! He shook his head, "Since when? Since you got on the boat to America?"_

_"Just get out town, Angelo," Jack cut in, speaking firmly, not arguing but ordering him, "These people are bad. You don't want to be on their list. Get far away."_

_"Who are you doing this for? The government in England? Or the other thing you said, Torchwood?"_

_Jack just held up a ticket, "For the train. Go to the west coast. You're handsome enough. Get into the movies."_

_"I'm not letting you send me away," he stated, holding his ground._

_"Why?" Jack glared, "Because you wouldn't know how to get another man? Because you're not brave enough?"_

_"You think I'm with you because it's easy?" Angelo scoffed, tears in his eyes as he spoke of their relationship, "It's not easy, trust me."_

_"I know," Jack cut in, "I hear the beads clicking at night, Angelo," he couldn't begin to count the number of times he'd woken up to hear Angelo praying, clutching his Rosary beads, "Everything we do, you ask for forgiveness afterwards. That's just sex. Imagine if it was love. What would he say then, your God? What would he say if two men could love? Oh, but no. No, that's impossible. And if it's impossible, then you can't stay with me."_

_Angelo sniffled, deeply hurt by what Jack was saying, but how little he knew of what he thought or felt if he could say that and honestly believe it, "You...you're an ass. For a man who knows a lot of things, you're not so bright. Think about it. I grew up in a village with 200 people. Only 200. The sun would rise and the sun would set over the same 200 people. And that was it. That was my world. And look at me now. I'm a bootlegger in New York City with you in my bed. You think any of your secrets can change my life more than it's already changed? And yes, I...I feel guilty about what we do. It hasn't made me stop doing it. Besides, I always hoped... if God is love, maybe...he loves me too."_

_"That's blasphemy," Jack warned._

_"I think that's Christianity," he countered._

_Jack stared at him for a long while before looking down at the clothes he'd packed for the man, slowly taking them out of the case._

_"You're unpacking my things?" Angelo eyed him, hopeful._

_"I've got this friend," he began, "He's called the Doctor. He explores the world...with a companion," he started to smile, "And with my sister, Angel," he let out a little laugh, "The Angel of the Universe," he glanced at Angelo, "She'd have liked you, she'd love to meet you, give you a hug…"_

_"Are you saying that I can stay?" Angelo asked, "Meet this Doctor? Meet your sister?"_

_Jack sighed, "Maybe."_

_Because he honestly didn't know. He hadn't seen either of them in nearly a century, not since his Manipulator had burned out in the temporal jumping side. It still functioned in other areas, was still useful, but it couldn't send him through time any longer. Who knew how long it would be before he saw them again?_

_What if, the next time he did, he still looked young as always, but Angelo was an old man?_

~oOo~

If only things had been that simple. He and Angelo had gone to the Wharf, to the box they weren't supposed to look in, and looked inside it. Of course. And, of course, since Torchwood was involved, they'd found an alien, like a large worm with teeth on the end of it.

Torchwood had intercepted orders to Maranzano, told the man to hold this 'weapon' in the box until after the next state election, then ship it to Albany. It was a parasite. Angelo had been curious to know more about it, just like Angel had been of almost everything they'd encountered. It was a species of brainspawn that was usually seen as vermin on quite a few planets, but actually used as a meal on another.

It tastes like oysters.

But that wasn't the point, the point, he'd realized, was that this specific worm could drill into the brain of the host and deposit larvae that would hatch into little worms, sharp as needles, all of them pushing further and further into the brain, too slowly for anyone to notice. Most people assumed a host was just suffering from dementia, but they had no idea. The larvae could make someone go insane over the years. And given that the next state elections were what would get Franklin Roosevelt elected as governor of New York and eventually President, he knew what the hope had been for the worm. The owners clearly wanted to use it on the man during that election so that, by the time he was in his second term as president, he'd start making insane decisions. It would only serve to lead to the destabilization of America, it would force them to pull out of the war which would allow Germany and Hitler to rise with the Third Reich triumphant.

It would create an entirely new history and change the future of the Human Race.

Worse, it would destroy the future, create chaos that he knew only one being would be feeding on. He knew that the owners of the worm were the Trickster's Brigade, an organization determined to cause as much chaos in the hopes of strengthening their 'god,' The Trickster, so that he might one day return to this Universe and take over.

A quick bullet to the worm and a packet of special salt and other chemicals devised by Torchwood had stopped the worm and dissolved it, saving the future. Angelo had been impressed, had wanted to learn more about what was going on, about aliens and other creatures that he'd fought in secret, how many times he'd saved the world with no one knowing.

If only he'd gotten the chance to tell him. They'd stayed too long, been discovered, the alarms had gone off and they'd ended up being chased by the police through the Wharf. He'd gotten Angelo out, over a high wall, but hadn't made it himself. He'd been shot, twice in the chest, once right through the head as Angelo watched, as Angelo saw everything, including him die.

So it was no surprise that Angelo, who had been caught fleeing and arrested, had been traumatized and fearful when he'd been released from prison a year later…to see HIM standing just outside the doors, alive and whole.

~oOo~

_"Nice suit," Jack called, watching as a more timid and shaken Angelo stepped out of Sing Sing Prison, looking lost and devastated even still. Angelo spun around and gasped, staring at him in wide-eyed shock "Look, it's alright," he held up his hand, slowly walking over, "Don't panic. It's me. I'm the same man."_

_"I saw you," Angelo shook his head, "I saw you get shot."_

_"I got better," Jack tried to wave it off._

_"You got shot in the head. I saw it. I saw the blood. I saw your body."_

_"Want to see it again?" he smirked, trying to distract him, not wanting him to think more on it, not wanting the man to work out his immortality. When that happened, that was when things always went bad for him._

_"Shut up, Jack!" he snapped, "This is so wrong. Tell me what happened. You were dead."_

_"Clearly, I wasn't. I was playing dead. Then I cleared out. I went to Los Angeles…"_

_"No, I saw you dead."_

_"But I'm alive," he reached out to take Angelo's hand, "Feel," but Angelo just pulled his hand away, "You wanted to learn the secrets? This is the best secret of all," he reached out again, this time Angelo let him take his hand and place it on his chest, letting him feel his heart beating._

_"You're alive," Angelo whispered, looking at him, tears in his eyes, hardly daring to believe it._

_He nodded, "I'm alive. I came back, Angelo. I came back for you. Believe me, I have never done that before. I-I even got us that same old room."_

_Angelo blinked, "You came back for me?"_

_"Yes," Jack swallowed, "Yes, I did," he looked into Angelo's eyes, "You don't know whether to hit me or to kiss me, do you? Come on," he took the man's hand, leading him off, "You can try both."_

~oOo~

Angelo had stabbed him.

Angelo had stabbed him in the side as they were getting 'reacquainted' on the bed.

He'd started shouting about how he was the Devil, had rushed at him, ready to stab him in the heart. He'd tried to defend himself, tried to reason with the man, let him know he wasn't the Devil, he was just Jack…

But Angelo had won, had stabbed him again, right in the heart.

He'd died.

Only to gasp awake to see Angelo standing with the Butcher and his Wife at the foot of the bed, clearly in shock at what he'd done, at how he'd killed a man and needed help, needed understanding.

It had been the worst time to resurrect as now there were more witnesses. The butcher's wife had screamed at him that he was the devil, the butcher taken a knife to him again, stabbing him repeatedly.

Till he died once more.

He'd awoke again, chained up this time, before a gathering of Italian immigrants in the basement of the butcher's shop. He'd given them all a scare, but…it hadn't been enough to keep them back. They rushed at him, all of them, seeming to take turns trying to kill him permanently. They'd stabbed him and stabbed him and cut him and hit him, everything they could possibly do…they'd done.

And he just kept coming back to it.

And Angelo had just kept standing in the background, watching it happen, not trying to stop it, but looking fearful and sorry.

They'd even tried to bleed him dry.

He'd woken a few times to see women before him, collecting his blood from the various cuts on his body, but he was never awake long enough to explain what had happened, why he kept living, not that they'd believe him.

It was hard to change someone's mind when they thought you were the Devil they feared.

And so the torture and the killing just kept happening…

~oOo~

_Jack's head hung, his chin to his chest, as he slowly woke once more, this time hearing only three hushed voices, three men and not the angry mob that had been attacking him. He blinked, lifting his head slightly to see there were, in fact, only three men standing before him now, two white men and a black man._

_"I don't know," the man on the left was asking, "I just don't know what it is."_

_"Hmm," the black man eyed him, before glancing at the others, "How much is the butcher asking?"_

_"10,000."_

_"Not too much for something with so much potential," the man in the middle remarked._

_"And we'd own him...together?" the black man asked._

_"A partnership," the man to the left looked at the other two, "What do you say?"_

_The man in the middle held out his hand, "Agreed."_

_Followed by the black man, who grabbed the middle man's wrist, "Agreed."_

_The last man nodded, grabbing the black man's wrist as the first man grabbed his, their hands forming a triangle, "Agreed."_

~oOo~

He'd been lucky though. From what he could gather, the three men were intending to buy him from the butcher. But Angelo had come back, the guilt having eaten at him, urging him to rescue him.

Angelo had released him from the chains, tried his best to clean his wounds, and told him that he had a way out. It had taken a few minute for him to gather his strength, but soon enough he was running through the streets of New York with Angelo in the lead.

~oOo~

_"Hurry up!" Angelo shouted as they ran down the road, "Hurry, there's a train out tonight!"_

_"Train where?" Jack shook his head, following him with a wince, the cuts still in the process of healing, "Where are we going?"_

_"Like you said, we'll go to the west coast, Los Angeles, together," Angelo looked back, only to see Jack wasn't following him anymore, but had run across the street, "Jack!" he hissed, rushing after him, "Jack! Where are you going?"_

_"I left something here!" Jack called, making his way up the fire escape, Angelo rushing after him._

_"You left something in a vent on a roof?" Angelo asked, seeing him pulling the top of a vent off._

_"Ha!" Jack cheered, pulling out his WWII jacket, "Never go far without it."_

_"Ok," Angelo nodded, turning to head back to the fire escape, "But now we go."_

_"I'm going, yeah," Jack blinked, growing serious, "Time to move on," before adding, "But not with you."_

_Angelo froze and looked at him, seeing Jack had gone solemn, "I'm sorry," he whispered, knowing what this was about, how he hadn't helped, how he'd been the cause of Jack's hurt, "I was terrified, Jack. They said you were the Devil, but other people said you were a blessing…"_

_Jack swallowed hard, "Something happened to me once, a long way away. I was just trying to help the Doc and Angie, but I died. And then…I came back," he shrugged, "Time itself changed me to…I don't know," he shook his head, "A fixed point. And now I can't die. I suffer and I perish, but I always come back. I've lived through a lot of Earth's past and a lot of its future. And I'll keep on living this life, forever."_

_Angelo looked at him, "In the future, are we together?"_

_"What does it matter?" Jack frowned._

_"Are we together?"_

_"We can't be, 'cos one day you're going to die and I won't."_

_"Then we forget the future. We make the moment now. We make a promise and we go forward."_

_"Angelo, don't," Jack warned as Angelo made his way over to him._

_"What? You're lonely, too. You said you want a companion."_

_"Don't make me do this."_

_"You're not going without me!"_

_"Just let me go."_

_"But you can't!" Angelo cried, tears in his eyes, "I'm never going to let you go. I could travel this whole wide world, but where would I find another man like you? Please," he begged, "Don't leave me on my own."_

_Jack just looked at him, sorrowful, before pulling his hands away and shaking his head, walking back from him, "I'm sorry, Angelo, but this is the story of my life. It always ends the same way. You kill me," he told him quietly, reaching the edge of the roof, "Men like you...you kill me."_

_And with that, he opened his arms wide, and let himself fall off the roof._

_"No!" Angelo rushed to the edge, looking down at Jack's prone form sprawled out on the pavement, "No! No!" he turned and ran down the fire escape, making it to the ground, "No, Jack!"_

_But Jack was gone._

~oOo~

He'd never heard from Angelo again after that, and as the years went on, he thought of the man less and less. He was just another man in the long list of lovers he'd had that had turned on him. Even if he was among the more repentant ones in the end, he'd lived too long to trust men who hurt him like that, he'd lived too long to be with men who he couldn't trust.

~8~

"Jack?" Angel asked, stepping beside him and touching his arm, "Are you ok?"

Jack blinked a few times and shook his head, "Angelo's in there?" he looked at the woman, not sure he heard her correction.

She nodded, "If you'd please?" she gestured at the house.

"Jack?" Gwen eyed him.

"Come on," Jack looked at the team, reaching over to squeeze Angel's hand before holding it, feeling like he was going to need her strength to face this.

The woman turned around and led the way into the rather lavish home, Jack and the team following her, "He talked about you all the time, Jack," she began, "His immortal man in old New York. He never forgot. You inspired him. You proved immortality was possible. And he devoted the rest of his life to finding out how to live forever."

"And he did it?" Tosh frowned.

"He's still alive?" Owen shook his head, that had to be impossible, the man had to be over 100 by then to have known Jack so long ago."

"He's still young?" Ianto shifted, now starting to feel uncomfortable with it. He always felt this way when Jack's old lovers popped up, mostly with Captain John, but…to know that this man that Jack had met so long ago, who he'd left such an impression on, was still around and thinking of him…

Jack looked over his shoulder at Ianto and winked at him, making the man smile at that. Jack was wonderful. He always seemed to know when he was bothered and did little reassuring things like that. He knew he was worried about Angelo and Jack, and Jack, in his own way, had just promised it was HIM, not Angelo.

He'd come to terms with it, during the 456, when he'd realized he might have died if not for Angel, that he and Jack wouldn't be together forever, not with one of them being immortal and the other mortal, with no way for either to become the other. He knew that, eventually, he would die and Jack would have to move on. In a way, he wanted Jack to move on, he didn't want the man to be alone or sad or unloving, he didn't want to hold him back from opening his heart to others. But, for the moment, he was Jack's and Jack was his and that was the moment he wanted to live in.

"No," Angel said quietly, "Alive, yes, but…" she looked at the woman, "He only that, isn't he?"

The woman sighed, "He's not young," she agreed, "My grandfather waited all this time to live forever. And his wish came true...too late," she pushed open a door and led them into a large room with medical equipment set up all around it.

There was a large bed in the middle, monitors and respirators set up on either side of it, with a very old man lying on it, a breathing mask over his nose and mouth, unconscious.

"What's wrong with him?" Gwen asked, eyeing him.

"At his age, just about everything."

Jack walked cautiously to the bed, alone, the team standing at the foot of it as he leaned over the body, lifting up the right eyelid to see the red marking the eye, "It's him."

He stepped back, staring down at the man as he laid there.

"You must be horrified," Angelo's granddaughter remarked, moving to her grandfather's bed, sitting on the edge and taking his hand, Owen moving to the various equipment to check for any alien properties while Tosh moved to sit at a small desk, opening her laptop to record this.

"Why would you say that?" Jack said quietly, looking at the man with a frown.

"He's grown so old."

Angel looked at Jack, seeing not…sorrow but…anger, in his eyes, and walked over to him, taking his hand as Gwen and Ianto watched him closely, seeing the same, and knowing that it could be dangerous to get near Jack when he lost his temper, much like with Gray. Oh there had been fights between the two men when their tempers flared, and they'd duke it out like children. But they knew Jack would never ever hurt Angel, which was why Gray was more interested in walking around the bed, examining it than watching Angel and Jack.

"That's how we see the whole world," Angel told her, taking Jack's hand, unclenching his fist to do so, "Everyone's young compared to us," she nudged him, "When you've lived so long."

"Not long enough," Jack muttered, and they could all hear his hidden meaning.

He'd never wanted to see this man again.

Angel frowned, "Jack…" she whispered, putting a hand on his arm as well, "What's wrong? What happened?"

Jack just shook his head, "He betrayed me," he told them, "He left me to the mercy of a mob. They killed me, over and over and over, tried to drain me dry, thought I was the Devil. And he just…stood there, watching it, didn't bother to stop them."

Angel looked at the old man, "He was scared."

"And he's dying," his granddaughter remarked, "When the Miracle ends, he'll die," she looked at Jack, "He spent his life trying to work out how to earn your forgiveness."

Jack scoffed, "I don't know if I can."

Angel squeezed his hand, "Jack…as terrible as that was…if he hadn't done it…would you have left New York?"

He looked at her, "What?"

"If he had never hurt you," she continued, "You might have stayed in New York, you might have started a Torchwood base there, but you would have stayed with him. You never would have come back to England, to Cardiff, you never would have found your team and Ianto and the Doctor and I…all the good you did over there, all the people you saved and the aliens you stopped…you never would have done any of that."

Jack blinked and looked at Angelo, thinking on that, it was true, he…he might have stayed in New York with him if he'd had the chance, if things had worked out. And it was true, all of that, all he'd done, he never would have if he'd stayed. But still…he couldn't help the feelings of anger and betrayal that rose in him at the sight of the man, "How do you forgive someone who hurt you?"

Angel looked up at him sadly, an empathy in her eyes, "Did you ever love him, even a bit?"

Jack swallowed, "I did," he nodded, sending Ianto another look that made him smile, not like he loved Ianto.

He loved that about their relationship. He understood Jack in a way none of his other lovers could. The things they'd been through, the secrets he knew, the people he'd met (like Angel) were things no other lover of his could claim to have. It had made them all the closer. They could communicate in a way that didn't always need words. Simple gestures and looks spoke volumes.

"Then you can forgive him," Angel murmured, "When you love someone, you forgive them anything," she looked back at Angelo, "Because you don't want to see them hurt when they're repentant. Because you know not forgiving them would hurt you, and when you love them, when they hurt you hurt too. Because you just want to see them smile again."

And sometimes, sometimes you had no idea what you might have done to someone else that would be cause for them to treat you the way they did. It was why she had forgiven River in the Library. She honestly had no idea what she might have done to her that made the woman hate her so much. Whatever it was, it had to be terrible for her to hold so much of it. She couldn't help but feel like…if she'd hurt River that badly, perhaps she deserved the treatment the woman dished out.

And she knew, she could forgive the Doctor for his amnesia, if he ever remembered what he'd forgotten. She didn't like the anger and hurt and…hate…that could come from not forgiving someone. To not give that out, meant you were holding onto your own feelings, it meant you wanted the other person to suffer in their guilt and that wasn't her. She didn't like people being unhappy or hurt or anything. She didn't like the feelings of anger that came with being hurt. She'd hated the Cybermen for so long, for what they'd done to her mother. It had blinded her to the fact that they had been humans at one point, that they had had their conversion forced on them in most cases.

She didn't like that feeling, to be filled with hate and anger. She found it was trying to do that, to hold onto those feelings. It was easier and more freeing, healthier, to forgive. Not just for her, but for those asking for forgiveness. Hatred and anger turned a person into something they weren't, into something dark. And that wasn't her.

"Love is always stronger than hate," Gray added quietly, making Jack look up to see Gray giving him a meaningful look.

Jack swallowed and looked back down at Angelo, Gray had forgiven him. Gray had been so full of anger and hate and bitterness at what he'd done, at how he'd let go of his hand as a child, but he'd forgiven him. And he'd forgiven Gray for attacking his team and city, because they were family and they loved each other and they couldn't stand to be angry at their brother.

"This is worse than you understand," Angelo's granddaughter continued, forgiveness, right now, wasn't the point to her, the point was the Miracle needed to be stopped, "The stock market is falling. It's been inevitable ever since Miracle Day, which I believe is a part of the plan…"

"Jack," Gwen called, having wandered over to the side of the room when she spotted something, the team looked over, seeing her eyeing a line of photos in frames on the fireplace mantel, "These are all of you. Some of these are..." she shook her head.

"That's Torchwood," Ianto squinted, seeing an image of Jack outside the Hub.

"That's Cardiff," Gray pointed out another.

"When was that?!" Gwen stopped at the last one, Jack…with a moustache and an afro.

"The 70s," Jack grinned, relieved to be off the confusing topic of forgiveness for the moment.

Angel giggled at it, "You've got a moustache."

"Jack…" Gray frowned, looking at one on the other end of the mantel, it was a three fold frame…that had Angel in it.

Angel blinked and stared at it, seeing an image of her 9th incarnation with Jack in Cardiff with Mickey, and then her 10th with Jack standing by the Bay just after the Master had been stopped, and her present self with Jack as they, and the Doctor and a few others, stood in the café with Lois Habiba.

"I told him you were my sister," Jack breathed, "I didn't think he'd work out that you could change your face though."

"It's not that hard to work out if you look closely enough," Angel swallowed, a little disturbed she hadn't noticed someone watching her like that when she'd been on Earth.

"My God, Jack," Ianto shook his head, "He watched you for decades."

"But he never made contact."

"You may not be ashamed of being old, but he was," Angelo's Granddaughter called, pulling their attention back.

"So Angelo didn't cause the Miracle?" Tosh frowned.

"Couldn't have," Owen murmured, before pointing at the equipment set up, "All this…it's human, it's natural. He's managed to live this long through completely natural means, look…" he pointed to a few monitors and regulators, "This keeps his body at a temperature two degrees below normal. And this controls his caloric intake, this medicine," he squeezed an IV bag hanging by the bed, "Keeps his blood pressure below 110…"

"And it worked?" Jack blinked.

"Given he's still alive Jack?" Owen rolled his eyes.

"Prolonging life is simple," the woman cut in, "But no one's worked out how to make a profit at it, so it's not advertised."

"And the whole time he was looking for immortality?" Jack murmured.

"It's not as impossible as it sounds. You are not the only remarkable thing on this earth, Jack. Consider the jellyfish. The species turritopsis nutricula is considered to be immortal. Its cells undergo a process called transdifferentiation. Quite simply, it can revert to a younger state, and grow old again. And then repeat, without limit. It's possible there are individual jellyfish upon this planet that have existed for thousands and thousands of years."

"I'm not as special as I thought," Jack smirked, almost pleased with that.

"You never were. Even within the human body, cancer cells are immortal.

Stem cells, in theory they can divide forever. And this is the research that Angelo investigated. Well, they all did, because my grandfather wasn't alone."

"Who were the others?" Ianto asked.

"The Families," Angel murmured as Jack looked at her with a frown, but she shook her head.

"That's what they call themselves," the woman nodded, "The story says that it started with three men, each representing a different family. And when you were being murdered over and over again, these three men came to witness your resurrection."

Jack started to nod, recalling that, "I saw them. They made a deal."

"They formed an alliance to purchase the power of resurrection. And when you escaped, the three families swore that they'd find the gift again."

"What were their names?" Tosh called, bringing up a search.

"The Ablemarch family, the Costerdane family and the Frines."

"Coster with a t-e-r? and Frines with an i or y?"

"T-e-r, and an i," the woman answered.

"Trace them," Jack ordered, "I want you to find every member of those three families."

"Keep in mind, it's nine decades later," Tosh rolled her eyes.

"And you're brilliant," Owen reminded her, moving over to her, putting a hand on the back of her chair as she got to work.

"Yes I am," she smiled, typing away.

"So what happened then?" Gwen got them back to point, "1928...what did they do next?"

"They lost Jack, but they still had his blood," the woman sighed.

"I thought they were draining it away, but they were collecting it," Jack muttered.

"So they just had to figure out how to use it," Ianto guessed.

"But that's not how it works," Angel frowned, "It's the Vortex not the blood that made him immortal."

"Then why would the three families want to kill you?" Gray frowned.

"I don't know," he shrugged.

"Whatever they were planning," the woman cut in, "My grandfather wasn't included. I think they considered him inappropriate."

"What's inappropriate?"

"He loved a man," the woman stated as though it should be obvious, "He did go on to have a family of his own, and I think he loved my grandmother very much, but he never lied about you, Jack. And I think that Ablemarch, Costerdane and Frines found that a little unfortunate. As a result, Angelo was forced to watch them from afar."

"Made enough money by the looks of it," Owen remarked, looking at the room.

"Well, Jack told him enough to navigate his way through the 20th century and make a profit."

"Jack," Angel nudged him playfully, mock-scolding.

"Hey," he defended himself, "And how many times has the Doctor helped someone win the lottery?"

Angel had to nod to that, the Doctor helped a lot of people make a profit now that she thought about it.

"But what did these Families do to the world?" Gwen had to ask, "They started in Manhattan. 80 years later the whole of the planet becomes immortal."

"And I become mortal," Jack finished.

"In 1998 we intercepted a message," the woman added, "It was just one word, 'Blessing.'"

"We've heard that before," Angel frowned, thinking about Owens, "They found it."

Jack nodded, "Whatever the Blessing is, the three families found it," he shook his head, now determined, now knowing he was, at least partially, responsible for the mess the world was in, "I think it's time we found them and had a little chat don't you?" he looked at the team who nodded.

"I don't think it'll be that easy though," Angel said.

Tosh nodded, "There's no one called Ablemarch or Costerdane or Frines," she called, "Literally, no such names. There's nothing. It's blank. They don't exist."

"Like Torchwood?" Ianto guessed.

"Exactly," Tosh agreed, "Just like when you run a search for Torchwood, you get nothing."

"Good thing you love a challenge eh?" Owen squeezed Tosh's shoulders.

Tosh grinned widely, "Oh yes," and got back to work.

"Is there anything you can tell us about where we can find the three families?" Gray turned to Angelo's granddaughter.

She shook her head, "We've searched for their physical location for decades," she told them, "They came out of New York with the motivation of keeping this secret. Where's the best place to hide yourself? In plain sight."

"They're everywhere," Angel repeated what they'd heard so often about it.

"Whoever they are," Ianto remarked, "They're careful and clever."

The room fell into silence a moment…when a soft rumbling was heard.

Angel blushed as they all looked at her, "Sorry," she winced, "Um…could I bother you for some crisps?"

The woman smiled and stood, "Angelo talked about you too, you know," she told her, "Jack's Angel, his sister," she eyed her, "Bribed quite a few people in UNIT to find out you were an alien, don't worry," she added quickly, seeing Angel's eyes widen and the others stiffen, "He swore on his life to protect you, to protect Jack and the people close to him," she looked at them all, smiling and nodding when she looked at Ianto, "It's a sentiment I've kept to," she put a hand on Angel's shoulders and gestured to the door, "I'll have the cooks prepare lunch for you all if you'd like?"

"That'd be good," Jack nodded, knowing that Tosh would need to eat, being pregnant, and that the rest of the team hadn't eaten much since they'd left, far too nervous about what they might encounter there.

"If you'll follow me?" she turned and led the way out of the room, Jack giving one more look back at Angelo before shutting the door behind him.

~8~

Jack slowly entered Angelo's room, lunch had been delicious and the team was taking a moment to just…enjoy the meal and try to find out more about what Olivia, Angelo's Granddaughter, knew about the families.

But he had something else on his mind that had kept him pretty quiet during the meal. Angel and Gray and what they'd said about forgiveness.

It wasn't fair, to hold this over Angelo as the man slowly died. It wasn't fair at all. It was literally the man's dying wish to know he forgave him for what happened in Little Italy. And it was the least he could do to forgive him.

Because Angel was right.

If Angelo had never hurt him the way he had, he wouldn't have left New York and done all he had since then. True, some of it was terrible, like handing over the kids to the 456, but others…like Ianto, were too good for him to regret leaving New York.

"All these years later and my life hasn't changed," he whispered, moving to stand at the man's bedside, looking down at him, the faint beeping of the heart monitor steady and slow, "I can't believe you were watching me. Maybe you said hello. Some old man asking me directions and I just...looked right through you. You saw him, though, Ianto," he glanced at one of the pictures, him and Ianto walking along the Bay, his arm around Ianto, "You'd have liked him. You'd have liked Angel too. I wonder if you ever said hello to them," he sighed, "I've got people in my life now Angelo, good people, people who have helped me to be a better person. And I never would have met them if not for you and everything that happened between us. So I wanted to say…I forgive you," he reached out and put a hand to Angelo's forehead, "I swear, I really and truly forgive you," he nodded, "And now I have to go, work to be done," he moved over, placing one kiss on the man's forehead, "See you later, old man."

He'd just straightened and turned to go, when the machines connected to Angelo began to beep furiously.

"What's the point of that?" he asked the monitors, as though they could reply back, just watching as Angelo's heart rate flatlined, "He's sick, I know. Tell me something new," but the beeping got louder, "Shut up! You want to tell whoever made this stuff dying's not quite the same anymore? Oh, how do I…" he looked around and grabbed the plug, unhooking the machine so it turned off, "That's better. Kind of cruel though. Angelo..." he gave a small laugh and looked down at the man, "Even if your heart stops, you go on living nowadays. Like I said," he put his hand on the man's, squeezing it, "I've got to…" he cut off suddenly, his eyes widening as he stared at the man's hand…it was growing cold, unlike the Category 1s in the modules that Ianto had seen, "No way," he quickly stepped back and flashed the man, scanning him with his Manipulator, staring at the results in alarm, "That's impossible. How the hell did you do this?" he ran to Angelo's side and started to do chest compressions, "I've got a man dying here!" Jack shouted, "Owen! Angie! Angelo's dying!" he shouted.

A moment later the team ran in, hearing his shouts, "Jack, what's happening?" Gwen gasped.

"He's dead," Jack pointed at Angelo, "He died. Angelo died right in front of me."

"He can't die Jack," Owen rolled his eyes, but Angel frowned and moved over to the man's side, putting her hand on his, feeling the same thing Jack had, the man had gone cold.

"This man's dead," he insisted, "Literally, stone COLD dead!"

"He can't be dead," Tosh shook her head, but urged Owen to go check anyway.

"It's impossible," Gwen agreed.

"Nobody can die," Ianto added.

"Isn't he just a Category 1 now?" Gray frowned.

"I scanned him," Jack held up his manipulator, "He's…"

"Gone," Angel breathed, blinking as she looked at them in alarm, "He's dead."

Owen nodded, "Did the world just change back?" he frowned, before looking at Tosh, "Tosh, go online for me? Check the hospitals, check with everyone, 'cos if he's dying, who else is dead?"

Tosh nodded, "On it," and rushed back to her laptop as Olivia moved over to her grandfather's side.

"He's dead," Olivia swallowed, feeling tears in her eyes.

"But how?" Gray shook his head.

Angel looked down, staring at the floor.

"It's just him," Tosh called, "There's no reports of any other deaths."

"So how did he do it?" Ianto eyed the body.

"How do you think it happened?" Gwen looked at Owen, "Was it some kind of drug? What makes him different?"

Owen just frowned, "I don't know, none of the medication here could do this," he looked at the IVs.

"If you'll excuse me," Olivia got up, "I need to make arrangements…"

Jack grabbed her arm, "You can't tell anyone he's dead."

"He planned this Jack," Olivia told him, "He planned that, when the Miracle came, he'd be free to die when it was time. He made arrangements himself, private arrangements, but I am not going to let him sit there and rot, have you got that?"

Jack swallowed but nodded, letting her go.

"Well, if he found a way to die," Tosh called, "We need to find it quickly, look," she turned the laptop around as they gathered over by the desk, except for Angel as she knelt on the ground beside Angelo's bed, feeling the floor, "Past two hours, Greece and Ireland have declared bankruptcy, and Spain is going under. They'll take the European Union down!"

Jack sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "We need to find the three families…"

"I've looked. There's no one with these last names."

"There has to be," Ianto shook his head, "They're names."

"What names aren't names?" Gwen asked.

"These names," Tosh pointed to them, "According to every site I can think of, the names never existed."

"It's happened before," Jack had to admit, "After the Second World War, all the Hitlers disappeared from the phone book. Change your name, go back and erase passport records, birth certificates. Do that for decades and you're buried in the fabric of the world."

"There's got to be a paper trail," Gray argued.

Tosh just grinned, cracking her fingers, "Oh, I was born for this. Ok…" she typed away, "We've got Manhattan, 1928. Checking churches, schools, Western Union. I'll set the searches going for red flags, if they bought or sold or joined anything, it's got to be on paper somewhere. People always miss something."

"Brilliant," Owen beamed at her, kissing her head as he squeezed her shoulders, massaging them for her to keep her comfortable and going.

"Red flag the word 'Blessing' too," Gwen suggested.

"Make 'Blessing' a filter," Ianto agreed.

"Jack?" Angel called, pulling their attention over to see her kneeling on the floor, her hands pressed on it, "There's something under the floor."

The team looked at each other and down at the floor, seeing something they'd missed, the floor…wasn't the original floor.

~8~

Oswald groaned inwardly as Jilly followed him down the hallway towards his hotel room, rambling on and on and on about what was coming, really giving him an earache.

"I'm trying to set up a joint appearance for you with Madison Weakly," Jilly kept on, "She's the bisected bride. You know, car accident sheared off everything below the bikini line. Got married a week later propped up on a box. Basically, she's made up of positive thinking and colostomy bags. Anyway, they were thinking you and she could share the spotlight if they could manage a two-shot, obviously," she paused for a breath as Oswald opened his hotel door and strode in, her following him quickly, "Next, I've got you these essays by John Maynard Keynes. You've got interviews about fixing the economy tomorrow. Just call for more deregulation and a resumption of burning. Now, we've got this…" she sighed as he turned on the radio, turning the volume up as loud as it could go, "It's a request to speak to the Committee on Health and Immortality," she tried to speak over the music, but Oswald was just dancing around to it, ignoring her, "Oswald? What do you think? Yes, or no? If you could turn that down? Alright, I'm going to need a reply by Friday night or they'll ask someone else. I said…" she started shouting, "They'll ask someone else! Please, Oswald, I'm just trying to finish the day. Could you turn the music down?!"

Oswald rolled his eyes and turned the radio off, "Get me a girl."

Jilly's jaw tensed, "How old?"

"Legal age."

She scoffed, "Seriously?"

"I've made a new life for myself," he smiled, shifting awkwardly, "A new chance with new tastes. So I want a woman. Now get me one. A redhead."

Jilly tensed at that, not liking how he wanted a redhead, when SHE was redhead, that made her terribly uncomfortable. But she gave him a brief nod and strode out of the room as he turned the music on very loud again, ignoring it as she entered her room, searching through her contacts for a call girl.

~8~

Gwen stood off to the side, staring out the window of the mansion as Gray, Owen, Ianto, and Jack worked at tearing up the floor now that Olivia had had Angelo moved out to be prepared for a very private burial. Tosh was still at the computer, searching while Angel stood at the foot of the hole, watching the men.

"I can't tell you," Gwen said to Rhys as she spoke to him, "I don't trust the phones these days. And we've got these family people everywhere. And Jack's just as bad. God knows what's going on. What time is it there?"

"Ah, it's almost eight," Rhys sighed, "The telly's been on all night. They said there'll be a run on the banks. Like a Lehman Brothers' thing."

"It's the pensions, they've gone bankrupt 'cos of the miracle, that starts a domino effect 'cos it's all been on a knife edge since 2008. They said the best advice is to invest in gold. There we are, we'll be fine. Thank God for my vast reserves, eh?"

"How's dad?"

"Not so good, Gwen," he told her quietly.

"Is he conscious?" she asked, worried.

"Not so much, no. The trouble is, we can't get a doctor in 'cos they'll classify him Category 1. And them ovens are still there. They're only closed 'cos of the protests. They said if we get a recession, it's classic isolation policy. Given our lack of resources the camps will open again."

"Like someone planned it."

"Yeah. But does that include 2008 as well? I mean, you know, was that part of the plan? A first stage?"

"Could be. I think we've been manipulated for decades."

"Yeah, but what for? I mean, where's it all heading?"

"I don't know," she sighed, "Just…keep an eye on dad for me?"

"Gwen?" Angel called and she looked over, "What about Martha?"

Gwen's eyes widened, "Oh I am stupid!" she shouted turning back to the phone, "Rhys, call Martha, she's a doctor, she'll be able to help dad and she won't say anything!"

"That's brilliant!" Rhys cheered.

"Well get on it!" Gwen laughed, "Call me later with what happened ok?"

"You got it, bye!"

"Bye," she closed the phone and ran to Angel, hugging her tightly, "You are a genius!" she whispered to her.

"No," Angel laughed pulling away, though pleased to hear someone thought her clever, "I just remember everyone."

Jack let out a low whistle that had them both look over to see the panels had been removed from the floor, from the small platform that Angelo's bed had been placed on.

"What is that?" Gwen frowned, seeing an intricate series of metal work crisscrossing through the floor, Tosh getting up to look at it with them, all of them sanding around the edge of it.

"Some sort of transmitter," Jack looked at it, trying to scan it with the manipulator…but it didn't work.

"What's wrong with it?" Ianto looked at him.

"Nothing," Jack said, "It's the transmitter. It's creating a null field. Which mostly proves my theory that immortality is caused by some kind of Morphic Field."

"But we still don't know how, where or what is creating it," Gray pointed out.

"So it's transmitting what," Owen shook his head, "Some sort of field that cancels out the first one so Angelo could die?"

"And where did he get it?" Tosh asked. They already knew that they wouldn't be able to use it to help them any, a panel like that was only good for that area, they'd have needed one as big as the Earth to cancel out everything happening to the humans on it.

"I don't know everything," Jack rolled his eyes.

"Torchwood," Angel answered and they looked at her, "Olivia said that he'd bribed UNIT officials…"

"You think he bribed one of us?" Ianto frowned at that.

"No," she looked at them, "I mean that he has resources. He's been watching you Jack," she looked at him, "If he could bribe UNIT to find out that aliens exist, maybe he was able to buy scientist from around the world. Humans…could…create something like this with enough information and scientific knowledge. Maybe he just hired the right people."

They looked down at the panel, frowning, if a human and a few scientist could create this…they could only imagine what the Families' bigger picture was and how they were going to do it.

~8~

Oswald stood before a mirror, in a suit and tie, his hair slicked back, when there as a knock on his door. He grinned and opened it, a rather lovely ginger woman in a white dress entering, "Mr. Danes," she smiled, "My name is Claire. Or whatever you want it to be. Now," she moved to the back of the room and turned to him, smirking, "I did have to adopt a dress code in order to get through hotel security. You know how that is. But I have clothes in my bag if you'd like. Schoolgirl outfit maybe?"

"There won't be any need for that," he waved her off.

"Ok. Well, it's not about the clothes, anyway," she giggled, "I can act all kinds of innocent. Whatever you want."

"I was very clear I don't want that. Not at all."

"What do you want?" she blinked.

"I suppose...we could talk a little. Would you like a drink?"

"And then what?" she shook her head, "I need to know exactly what we're doing tonight."

"Maybe we could have dinner...on room service?"

She gave a small, disbelieving chuckle, "I'm sorry, you mean like a date?"

"If you want."

"Mr. Danes, I do know who you are," she cut in, "I mean, from your trial…"

"Except that's not everything that I am," Oswald glared at her, "Don't presume to know me. I am capable of much more than my reputation."

"So you want to date me?" she scoffed.

"To begin with."

"Oh, my God," she laughed, "So would that be like your first date ever?"

"I said don't presume!" he snapped, before taking a breath, trying to calm himself, "We could have a drink. Maybe a fine wine, civilized people, adult company…"

"Actually...no," she held up her hand to stop him, "If you don't mind, I think I'd like to go."

"But I do mind. I'm paying."

"Mr. Danes, the thing is, I could cope with this if it meant shoving my face in the dirt. I'm used to that. But if you want us to pretend that you're normal?" she shook her head, "No way. No. Don't, sir. Please don't do that."

"All I'm asking for is your company. That's all. Just your company."

"Well, I think I should warn you that girls my age fight back," she gave him a harsh look, "You know that already though, don't you? That's why you prefer kids in the first..."

"Stop!" he screamed at her, "Don't you dare!"

"If you want to be a changed man, you're running out of time. The way I heard it, you've been classified a Category 0," she pushed past him towards the door.

"What's Category 0?"

"Oh, that day will come," she laughed, opening it, "Category 0 is you," she spat, slamming the door shut as she headed out.

~8~

Jilly rolled her eyes as someone pounded on her door and got up, heading over to peer through the peephole, sagging when she saw who it was.

"What's Category 0?" Oswald demanded as he stormed in the moment she opened the door.

"What's...the what?" she frowned.

"What's Category 0? And why does my whore know about it?"

"Ah, clever girl," she remarked, "Well, that's what you get for employing someone who sleeps with senators. She's been listening."

"Tell me, what's Category 0?" he demanded.

"Look, Oswald, did you _really_ think it would never come to an end, your freedom? There's an emergency mandate being passed through congress defining a new Category 0, meaning people who have earned themselves a place in the ovens for moral reasons."

"They want to burn me alive?" he stared at her, horrified, he'd done all this to avoid that!

"Oswald, you were always sentenced to death. What you had was a wonderful delay. And now it's time for that adventure to come to an end."

"But...people _love_ me."

" _Television_ loves you. It's a different thing."

"They can't kill me. Not yet. I haven't found them."

"Haven't found who?" she frowned shaking her head.

"How long have you known about this?" he glared at her, "How long have you known?!" he stormed up to her, grabbing her arms, shaking her, "How long have you known?!"

"Oswald..." she struggled, but he shoved her onto the bed, smacking her in the face as she screamed and shoved him back.

He grabbed her purse and ran for the door.

"I'll have you arrested for this!" she yelled, getting off her bed and storming after him, "Brand new charges! They're going to reopen those ovens and you're going in!" she spat as she watched him run down the hall as she reached it, "You run, Oswald! Run as fast as you can! You've got the most famous face on the planet. Where will you hide?! Where are you going to go, Oswald? What are you going to do?!"

~8~

"I'm so organizing a press conference," Jilly muttered to herself as she strode down the halls of the hotel, her suitcase behind her, "I'll say that Oswald Danes is on the run with all his old appetites. It'll be the biggest witch hunt this country's ever seen…" she stopped short when the lift doors opened and the man she'd met at the Rally stepped out, "Oh...um..." she blinked, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to warn you," the man said, "You're being watched, by Torchwood."

"Me?" she blinked, she'd been suspicious that she might be watched, but she thought it was more for Oswald than her.

"And secondly, you're being considered for a promotion."

"With Phi-Corp?" she started to smile.

"Oh, we're way above Phi-Corp," he grinned.

"Then, who are you?"

"We're family business. Interested?"

"Yes," she nodded, smirking, "Oh yes."

"Well, then, that completes the interview. And we'd better leave," he gestured to the lift.

"Where are we going?"

"A long way away," he remarked, pushing the button and the doors shut.

~8~

It had only been a week since Angelo had died, and in that week, the governments had grown near beaten down. The economies were failing even faster than anyone had thought and so many of the 'Soulless' had seen the bleak future and joined the '45 Club.' It was madness. It was terrible.

It had gotten to the point where the Governments had officially ordered the Overflow camps to stay open, under emergency laws, and all Category 1s were taken immediately for incineration, not even giving them the chance to recover.

Gwen had never been more thankful for the security of Torchwood and the partnership it had formed with UNIT. Martha had free access to it, having been a temporary member, and Rhys had kept her updated on her father's condition. There was still little that could be done to help him, his heart was just too week, but Martha had supplied them with UNIT medication that would numb his pain entirely.

The Torchwood team, through UNIT means, has been relocated once more across the ocean, back closer to home, to Scotland. UNIT, once learning the families were after Jack and behind the assassination attempts had refused to let them back to London or Cardiff but wanted them elsewhere for the time, to let them recover and come up with a plan.

Jack winced as Owen pulled the needle out of his arm, finished collecting a pint of his blood. Tosh and Owen had set up a small lab of sorts in the sitting room, microscopes and scanners everywhere, trying to determine why, if it wasn't the blood that had made Jack immortal, were the families so keen to use it? There had to be _something_ about it.

Angel moved to sit beside Jack, reaching out to put a finger on the small prick on his arm, a soft gold wave healing the small cut.

"Thanks Ang," Jack smiled at her, before leaning back on the sofa, putting his arm around Ianto's shoulders as he sat beside him, Gray was at the window, keeping a lookout incase Angel's feelings failed her while Gwen sat at a table in the kitchen, running a search on a laptop.

"We need to do something," Gray determined, turning to face them, leaning against the side of the window, "Take the fight to them, get out of here and find out what's happening."

Jack looked at his little brother and smiled, "Look at you, wanting to go out there and explore. I remember when you were too scared to leave the house."

"Yeah, a long time ago," Gray rolled his eyes, "I grew up Jack."

Jack sighed, "We'll get out of here soon," he promised, "We just need a lead."

"Well, one bit of good news," Owen called, "I think we've got enough blood," he indicated to the small store of about 6 bags of Jack's blood, one pint a day. It had left the man a little woozy, but, being from the 51st century, he was a bit more fit, the Human Race had evolved a little more, been able to recover faster. They couldn't risk taking any more blood from him though, not for a while, but they had enough to do tests and plenty left over if they needed it.

"I've told you, his blood didn't make him immortal," Angel reminded them.

"They can't have cloned it or copied it," Jack agreed.

"Doesn't really matter though, does it Jack?" Tosh looked at him, "They took your blood and they _keep_ trying to spill your blood."

"Someone wants you dead for a reason," Gwen added, "They want your blood. We need to know why," she sighed and rubbed her head, "The answer's got to be here somewhere. The Blessing, page 56 of 12 million."

"Gwen I have a scan running," Tosh told her gently.

"Yeah, yeah I know," Gwen rested her head in her hands, "I just…I need something to distract myself."

She was worried for Rhys and her mother, her daughter and her father. Torchwood was safe, but she always feared that there would be a moment where the government would think to check there for her father. The government itself couldn't get in those doors, but it wouldn't stop them trying. And she didn't want her family hurt in the attempts.

"They'll be alright Gwen," Angel looked over her shoulder to reassure her, "I promise," she crossed her hearts, "Mickey and Martha will be careful that no one finds out where your family is."

"Yeah," Gwen nodded.

"I think I've found something," Ianto murmured, his eyes wide as he stared at the laptop on his lap, "I ran a search, not about 'the Blessing' or anything but…about what you said with Angelo Jack," he looked at him, "I put in some words about it and this came up," he set the laptop down on the coffee table and turned the TV on, the image reflecting what was on the small screen.

"What is that?" Jack squinted, "Is that…a book?"

Ianto nodded, "It's from 1935," he explained, showing them a cover of a novella, "It's a story that the author claimed was based on a true story, about a man, in 1928, chained up in the cellar of a butcher's shop, displayed like a circus attraction. Tickets sold so that people could watch him be killed and resurrect."

"What was it called?" Tosh asked.

"'The Devil Within.'"

"Sounds like me," Jack sighed, rubbing his face, he could distinctly remember the Italian crowd calling him the Devil like Angelo had.

"At first you'd think it's just a story," Ianto continued, "But it's got five points of reference that are identical to what happened to you Jack."

"So you think the author was what, in the cellar?" Owen frowned.

"Yeah," he nodded, "What if he was there, what if he saw Jack die and come back and decided to write about it."

"Who was the author?" Gray asked.

"Victor Podesta."

"Any connection to the Families?" Gwen got up and came over.

"I'm not sure, all I could find was that the Podestas owned a grocery store about ten blocks east of the butcher shop, had connections to organized crime, and that the youngest son, John, was stabbed to death back in '27."

"Let me guess, unsolved?" Jack asked, "Mob related?"

"Yeah, open and shut according to the police back then."

"What happened to them?" Angel looked at the picture.

"Not even ten years later the family disappeared. Every single one of them. Mother, father, other son, their daughter, everyone gone. They could have changed their name, or maybe the daughter married into the Families…whatever happened, they disappeared just like the Families."

Owen let out a low whistle, "This bloody conspiracy spans the whole of the 20th century."

That was a lot of data to sort through.

"Tosh…" Jack turned to her.

Tosh just held up her hand, "On it," she smiled, getting to work on tracing the Podesta line, anything on paper, anything at all, she was going to find, "And Owen," she looked at him, "Can I have some pickles and jam?"

The team grimaces as Owen just laughed and got her the food.

"Oi!" Tosh pointed at Gwen, "I'll hear nothing from you Ms. Brownies and Oranges."

"Yeah, but pickles and jam Tosh?" Gwen shook her head.

"I dare you to try it," Tosh held one out as Owen gave her the requested food.

"No thank," Jack held up his hands in surrender.

"I'll try it," Angel smiled, getting up to take one from Tosh, the team grimacing again when she ate it, "Not bad. Not as good as fish fingers and custard though."

"Fish fingers and custard?" Gray eyed her oddly.

"Alien, complete alien," Owen muttered.

"Mmm…" Tosh hummed in thought though, "That does sound good…"

"No," Jack pointed at her, making her pout and take a bite out of her pickle, the others laughing.

~8~

Jilly Kitzinger walked through a park one bright morning, a frown on her face, her typical red lipstick and jacket on, coming to sit on a bench beside the man that had offered her a promotion with his 'family business.'

Some business.

She'd been there a week and hadn't done anything spectacular.

"Thank you for coming," the man remarked as she sat down.

"This is not the promotion I expected, sitting in a nondescript office distributing for Harry Bosco. I thought you needed me."

The man smirked and slid across the bench to her, handing her a paper, "This is for you. You've been invited to Shanghai."

"Well, that's impossible," she scoffed, "Don't you watch the news? First sign of the meltdown, China closed its borders."

"Not to us."

She eyed him a moment before taking the paper, opening it to see a plane ticket to Shanghai. But the frown on her face wasn't from the location, but tow other details, "This says Lucy Statten Meredith."

"You'll be travelling under that name," he informed her, "In fact, that is your name from now on. But the families want to meet you in person."

And then she swallowed at the second detail, "It's one way?"

"Yes, yes, it is. I'm rather jealous. They're taking you to the Blessing," he smiled and stood, straightening out his suit, "Thank you. We won't meet again."

Jilly tensed, watching him walk away, glancing at the ticket. That was never a good thing when something was one way. It usually meant the person was never coming back, and she didn't know if that meant she'd be living in Shanghai the rest of her life…or that she was being sent to her death there.

She swallowed, taking a breath and stood, walking off, only one way to find out.

~8~

"Oh you bloody…" Tosh hissed, slapping the top of her computer with a huff.

"What's wrong?" Jack looked over as he and Angel went through papers about Phi-Corp and the Podesta family, Ianto reading through a digital version of the pulp fiction while Gwen and Gray cleaned guns on the kitchen table, Owen still examining the blood on the other side of Tosh.

"I've got nothing," she sighed, "The search for the Podesta resulted in nothing, so I tried to filter his story through pattern recognition software, maybe he'd kept writing under a different name yes?"

"Sure?" Ianto frowned, seeing Tosh getting worked up.

They had all learned to be very, VERY careful about how they sounded and what they said when Tosh got frustrated, it either meant she was about to start crying or throwing things. Bloody hormones.

"I tried to identify key points of similarity in prose styles. And I found 320 matches. Everyone in that bloody genre writes the same way. And that's only the ones in the stupid database. Out of that there's around 46 with pronounced similarities scattered all across the world. 22 in the US, nine in the UK, one in Sweden. Then there's also Argentina, Germany, Japan…and now I've got to check them all out!"

Angel blinked, looking over at the front door, "I…I don't think you need to Tosh."

"Why?" Tosh looked over, but the team slowly started to stiffen, seeing the look on Angel's face.

"Angie?" Jack asked her carefully, putting a hand on her shoulder, seeing her just staring at the door with a frown.

"Gwen," Angel called, "You might want to put the guns away."

"Why?" Gwen frowned.

"Do it," Jack ordered, getting up.

Gwen rolled her eyes but handed the guns in her hand to Gray, the man moving to put them in a drawer in the kitchen.

"Angel what's wrong?" Ianto asked her.

"Oswald Danes is at the front door," was all she said.

Tosh and Gwen stiffened and Gwen realized why Angel had told her to put the guns away, if that man came within ten feet of her, she'd kill him with her own hands.

Jack's jaw tensed and he moved to the door, but Angel grabbed his hand, "Jack…" she tugged him back a moment, "Don't hurt him…" she looked at the door, "I think he wants to help."

Jack sighed but nodded, "I won't," he agreed, "Much," he had to add.

Angel bit her lip but let go of his hand and he stormed to the door, throwing it open just as Oswald lifted his hand to knock, "I realize this might be something of a surprise..." Oswald began.

"Not really," Jack glared at him, "My sister's psychic," he nodded at Angel."

"Is she?" Oswald smirked, eyeing her.

"Eyes front soldier," Jack snapped, as Gray moved to stand beside Angel, crossing his arms as he glared at the man with the others, "What do you want?"

Oswald nodded, knowing there wasn't time to waste or any chance he could take to mess this up, he needed their help. He'd spent quite a bit of money to find out where Jack Harkness was and smuggle his way into the country, "I have a name. I have the name of a man. I have the name of the man who created the miracle."

Jack stared at him a long while, "Get in," he stepped to the side, letting the man in, glancing out the door to make sure the man hadn't been followed or led anyone right to them, before he shut the door.

"You once asked me for help," Oswald reminded him as they entered the sitting room, "So you can remember that," he smirked at the team, "The rest of you, the _captain_ invited me in."

Gwen stood up and eyed Oswald, "I want to ask one thing first," she began, "At your trial you said about that girl, 'She should have run faster.' Did you really say that?"

"Yes, I did," Oswald said, making Tosh shift uneasily, Owen glaring at him as he put a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Right," Gwen shook her head, "Ok. Let me tell you, Oswald, I used to be a policewoman and I worked with pedophiles and murderers, and God help me, I saw men so alone and damned and wretched. But that's not you. That's nothing like you. Because for the first time in my life…I've met a monster. Is that clear?"

"I feel very special," Oswald smirked, "And well said."

"I'm gonna kill him," she warned Jack.

"I might help you," Ianto muttered, of all of them, the only one with a little girl in the family too.

"And that's why I told you to put the guns away," Angel told her.

"You always tell us to put the guns away," Gray told her.

"You don't like guns," Tosh agreed.

"She told me to keep mine," Owen shrugged.

"When was this?" Jack looked over at him, a bit startled at that.

"When Maloney tried to shoot me."

Angel shook her head, "Oswald," she looked at him, trying to keep the bile down as she looked at the man who had done such a terrible crime, "What do you know?"

"What happens to me after I say?" Oswald countered.

"Well, then we kill you," Gwen said, "There's no murder anymore. So I can make you Category 1 forever."

"We can't kill him," Angel shook her head.

"You're defending him?" Owen looked at her with a frown, that was…NOT like Angel. She was all about doing good and helping people, saving them from monsters, not saving the monsters.

"No," she looked at him, "But…we need him."

Jack sighed, moving to sit on the back of the sofa, beside her arm, "She's right, we need to know what he knows."

"Mr. Danes," Ianto began, trying to be civil, "There's no going back. You need to tell us what you know."

Oswald took a breath, "I'll say this, Phi-Corp gave me an assistant, a woman called Jillian Kitzinger. And in my bag," he held up the satchel around his shoulders, "I have Miss Kitzinger's laptop."

"God's sake, is that it?" Gwen scoffed.

"We raided her file already," Tosh remarked.

"Yes but," Oswald smiled, "As soon as I'd stolen the laptop, good little Jilly did _exactly_ the right things. She changed the passwords, opened new accounts, deleted the old ones. But I was watching. And I know my way around online better than most. I know how to keep myself hidden. So I shadowed her, and I've been following Miss Kitzinger these past week. Here's a funny thing. Yesterday, at 12:00 midday, she disappeared. Her entire profile online vanished. Jilly Kitzinger ceased to exist."

"Just like Podesta and the families," Gray frowned.

"You said you had the name of a man," Owen called.

"Soon as I say this, I'll be at your mercy," Oswald hesitated.

"Yes," Jack agreed.

"Tell us his name," Gwen demanded.

"I'll have to trust you," Oswald sighed, "Remember that. I'm trusting you. One man's name keeps reoccurring. Kitzinger was employed to send him information. And his name…is Harry Bosco."

"Harry Bosco?" Owen frowned.

"His name, over and over again."

"Tosh, can you run a search for Harry Bosco?" Gwen asked.

"No," Jack shook his head, "She can't, because Harry Bosco isn't a man. Harry Bosco is a process. Way back during Vietnam, the first televised war, the government didn't want the US networks taking feeds directly from the Vietnamese since the information was beyond their control for the first time. They put agents in every newsroom, every major TV network, filtering the output for the public. The most famous was Harry Bosco."

"What did he do?" Angel asked, not very well versed in human history, let alone American history.

"He'd subtly alter information with mistranslations into English. You can change the whole meaning of a sentence by changing just one word."

"Like 'victims' instead of 'bodies,'" Gray guessed.

"Exactly," Jack nodded, "Lets you influence public opinion."

"All the channels Harry Bosco these days then," Gwen scoffed.

"My point still stands," Oswald cut in, "The name's still important because Kitzinger works in PR. Why would _she_ be handling this Harry Bosco process?"

"It IS a good question," Tosh had to admit, "Why would the families hire Jilly to do all this in the first place?"

"So what's she translating?" Ianto asked.

"What's she mistranslating?" Jack realized, "'Cos the three Families changed their name, now Jilly's changing words? Maybe they're connected," he turned to Oswald, "The laptop," he held out his hand.

Oswald stared Jack down a moment before reaching into his bag and handing over the laptop, Jack giving it to Tosh.

~8~

"So what did we find?" Jack looked over Tosh's shoulder.

"That you have no concept of personal space," Tosh laughed, shoving him back a little before clicking a button, bringing up the information on the TV of the emails she'd gone into, video files.

"What are they?" Ianto asked, seeing Chinese symbols under them.

"Jilly processed this clip from a local news station in Shanghai," Tosh told them, "It's got three layers of language though, the local Wu dialect dubbed into Mandarin and then the English subtitles."

"How are we supposed to know what's wrong or right?" Gray shook his head.

"Nobody speaks Chinese?" Oswald chuckled mockingly.

"Um," Angel raised her hand, "I speak Baby and Goldfish," she reminded them, "Every language in the Universe really…"

"You're kidding me," Owen stared at her, shocked and a bit awed by that.

Jack grinned, "Brilliant!"

"Play the clip," Gray told Tosh.

~8~

Jilly walked through the posh floor of what seemed like a restaurant in Shanghai, heading right to a young man as he tapped away at his phone, the only other person there, "Morning," she greeted, "Guess you're my breakfast meeting. I'm Jilly Kitzinger."

"No, you're Lucy Statten Meredith," the man corrected, glancing at her, "Congratulations, you failed the test."

Jilly blinked, slightly offended by that, before shaking her head and taking a seat, "Ok, I keep wondering, why me?"

"You're a storyteller," the man shrugged.

She grinned, "Thank you."

"Look at you," the man put his phone away, eyeing her, "The nails, the coat, the lipstick. From the moment you walk through the door, you tell a story. You might have noticed we're kind of good at keeping quiet. So we need you. We need experts."

"So what's your story?" she smirked.

"I'm the latest chapter in an epic. Once upon a time, there were three wise Families. Then they went out into the world. One Family took politics, one Family took finance and one Family took media. But that's all in the past. The stories yet to come, they're the best."

"So does that mean there's a story about to break? With the Miracle?"

"Not for me to say."

"You want me to what? Prepare a statement? Mount a campaign?"

"That's kind of small, don't you think?"

"Then what?" she grinned, excited.

"We need you to write history."

"I can do that!" she said, eager, so SO eager to be a part of that.

"Good. Nice recovery. Your hair is a work of art. If you ever come here at night, try the mitten crab. It's a local delicacy."

"So what do you want me to do next?" she asked as he got up.

"Stay in your hotel and wait. When we're ready, you'll be taken to the Blessing. I hope you survive."

"I'm sorry?" she blinked, stiffening, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, some people die," he said simply, "The Blessing, it kills them. Good luck. You won't see me again."

Jilly frowned as she watched him go, an uneasy feeling settling over her.

~8~

"This is pre-Miracle," Tosh told them, bringing up the footage, of an Asian man on a stretcher, being led through a hospital, "The man died two days later. But he went mad apparently, burned down a hospital, got caught in his own fire.

"That's wrong," Angel frowned, looking at the subtitles that said 'It's a Godsend my life was saved.'

"What is?" Ianto looked at her.

"He's not saying it's a Godsend…"

"What's he saying then?" Owen frowned.

"The Blessing…"

"It's a blessing my life was saved?" Gwen guessed.

"Let her finish," Jack laughed at how eager his team was to work this out.

"No, see that's what the Mandarin is saying, but original Wu dialect, it's different. He didn't say, 'It's a blessing my life was saved.' He said, 'The Blessing saved my life,'" she looked at them, "They mistranslated it on purpose. It's 'The Blessing saved my life.'"

"It's in Shanghai," Tosh blinked.

"The Blessing's in Shanghai!" Jack realized.

"How do we get to Shanghai?" Owen asked.

"Getting into Shanghai is impossible," Gray agreed, "They've closed the borders, withdrawn from the UN."

"You could take a slow boat," Oswald called.

"Shut it!" Gwen snapped at him.

"Tosh," Ianto looked at her, "Is there anything within mainland China? Any open ports?"

"You're still not getting it though," Angel cut in gently, "That right three…" she paused the footage where the subtitles mentioned how the man had 'burned down the hospital,' "It's not saying 'hospital' either, the Mandarin says 'medical facility,' but…" she frowned, "I…I don't think it's that either."

Tosh blinked at that and turned to the laptop, looking up the facility in question, "Because it's not!" she gasped, "The address…it's a blood bank."

"Blood again," Gray frowned.

"It's always about blood," Jack frowned, "Why is that?"

Angel looked down, blinking…

'... _we knew this blood was important_...'

'... _the Blessing will take every last drop. You'll both die_...'

... _Jack stood before a chasm, his arms wide, blood flying out of him till he collasped to the ground, unmoving_...

Jack shook his head, "Tosh, run a check on that, but reference it with Kitzinger…"

"Hold on," Tosh frowned, seeing another file, "There's a second clip in Spanish," she brought it up, watching as it played with nearly the same subtitles, nearly the same event as well.

"It's the same," Angel nodded, getting up to stand before the TV, "They replaced Blessing with Godsend, and switched the phrasing. Medical Facility too."

"There's a second blood bank in Buenos Aires," Tosh searched it, "A blood bank destroyed by a fire only 24 hours before Shanghai and…" she looked up at them, "Five days before the Miracle."

"Why'd they burn down a blood bank in Buenos Aires?" Gray frowned.

"Why burn down a blood bank at all?" Owen countered.

"We don't even know what the Blessing is," Ianto added.

"Maybe it's some sort of ritual," Jack suggested.

"It happens in both cities," Angel murmured, looking at a map Tosh brought up, "At the same time…" the team quieted, looking at her as she eyed the map, "Tosh?"

"Yeah?" Tosh asked quietly.

"Can you make it a global representation?"

"Of course," she nodded, bringing it up.

"Oh my God," Angel blinked, "Do you see that?" she turned to them, but the team looked at her, "Look," she pointed to Shanghai, "Shanghai, yes?" and then Buenos Aires with her other finger, "And Buenos Aires," and connected her fingers in the middle, "They're opposite sides of the world, exact opposites!"

"Oh my God," the team repeated.

"They're antipodes," Tosh nodded, bringing up a line right from Shanghai to Buenos Aires, "They're the antipodes of each other."

"Two massive population centers balanced on either side of the planet," Jack realized.

"As the old saying goes," Oswald threw in, "'Count your blessings,' 'cos it turns out there's two of them."

Gwen rolled her eyes at him, wishing they could just throw him out, but Oswald knew where they were, "But what does it mean?"

"Look at the Phi-Corp logo!" Owen realized, it was a 'phi' symbol, which looked like a circle with the line through it, "The letter Phi, a circle with a line through it. It's been staring us in the face all this time."

"A line through the world?" Ianto guessed.

"The Blessing," Jack nodded, "The Miracle."

"But what is it?" Gray asked.

"We need to find out," Jack determined, "We can get into Argentina, no problem."

Angel shook her head, "I think there's more to it than that…" she turned around to them, "I think…I think we need to get into both, Jack."

Gray nodded, "Maybe you should go one way."

"And you the other?" Jack frowned.

"Buenos Aires."

"Shanghai."

"So this is what we're doing?" Gwen asked, none of them noticing Angel starting to shake her head, "A mission on both sides of the world?"

"Biggest mission yet," Tosh smiled.

"Suppose it is, yeah."

"And you're taking me with you," Oswald called.

"No way," Owen shook his head.

"Think about it, you can't let me walk free. Not a man with my desires. And you can't have me arrested. Not now that I know all about your little plans. And you can't make me Category 1 without leaving yourselves open to arrest and none of you would try to kill be before that precious treasure would you?" he glanced at Angel, he'd noticed how protective they all were of the girl, how…innocent she appeared, she had the same sort of aura around her as little Susie had, innocence, "There's no choice. There's not a choice in the whole of the world."

"He's right," Gwen was loath to admit, "He knows too much."

"Jack…" Angel began.

"I think I can get us in," Jack remarked, not hearing her, "Back in the old days, Torchwood tracked down a black market trade in alien artifacts coming out of China. Skullion metal and coins, things like that. We closed it down but the route stayed open...for arms dealing."

"Jack," Angel tried, a bit louder.

"We're going to trust arms dealers?" Ianto frowned.

"Jack!" Angel shouted, making them all look at her, standing there with her arms crossed, tears in her eyes, "You can't go."

"Why?" Jack frowned.

"Please," she half begged, "Don't go…"

"Angie…" he moved over to her, putting his hands on her shoulders, "What's wrong?"

"I saw it," she whispered, the tears falling, "It's the blood Jack…"

~8~

Jack, Gwen, Ianto, and Oswald, ran through the night, having made it to the outskirts of Shanghai. UNIT had been able to get them clear access to the city, the UNIT based in Shanghai meeting them at the border with transport. They were going incognito, as much as they could, undercover with the UNIT agents to drive them, a small flat set up and ready for them to work out exactly where the blessing in that country was located.

~8~

On the other end of the world, Tosh, Owen, Angel, and Gray stepped out of the airport in Buenos Aires. They looked around, waiting as a black car pulled up to them. They glanced at Angel, who nodded, it was safe, on loan from the local government to take them wherever they needed to go.

~8~

Jilly Kitzinger paused as she wandered through the back alleys of Shanghai, stopping when she saw what looked like a red screen that was lit up from within in the distance. She paused feeling a bit shaken as she stared at it, when soldiers stepped out from the gated area and pushed it open.

She took a breath and walked towards it, spotting an older blonde woman within, waiting for her.

"You must feel terrible," the woman remarked as she reached her.

"No, I'm fine," she forced a smile.

"No, I mean you really must. That's what the Blessing does to you, the closer you get. You're scared. Am I right? Your skin's a little too tight. There's something just out of the corner of your eye you can't quite see. Hmm?"

Jilly gave a small, shaken nod, "Yes."

"You never get used to it. Come this way, Miss Kitzinger," she turned to lead her off.

"It's Miss Meredith."

"I don't really care. The men enjoy those sorts of games," she turned, leading her down another alley, "But the feeling, it started as soon as we dug deep enough. I think it's the Blessing's attempt to communicate."

"Then it's a living thing?" Jilly frowned as they reached a door.

"Oh, we have no idea. But certainly the Blessing sends some sort of impact back at the onlooker," she walked through it as the door opened for her, allowing them access to a hall with a lift at the end, "We have a theory. We say the Blessing shows you to yourself," she smirked as they entered the lift, heading down, "I've seen people look upon the Blessing and end their lives. There's a brilliant truth about that, because each and every time, that person was hiding something vile. Isn't that wonderful? It's exhilarating, the damage it does. I wonder what you'll see," she glanced at Jilly when the lift doors opened and she stepped out, Jilly following her, staring past her though at the large sight before her.

Jilly stumbled forward, down a flight of stairs and right to the edge of the scaffolding that had been constructed before the blessing.

It was like a chasm, two red-colored walls with a dark crack through the middle, a force of air sucking whatever flew before it right in, humming.

"What can you see?" the woman asked, "What does the Blessing tell you about yourself?"

"That I'm right," Jilly breathed, tears in her eyes as she stared at it, "How far down does it go?"

"All the way to the other side of the world," the woman smirked.

~8~

"Gwen," Tosh greeted over the phone as soon as she had finished setting up the equipment with Owen, Angel sitting beside Gray on the bed as he sat, hunched over, his hands pressed to his head, having complained of a headache the moment they landed.

"Tosh, you alright?" Gwen called back.

"Fine, we're all set up and ready to go. And you?"

Gwen scoffed, "Not so bad, if you ignore having Oswald Danes as a roommate."

"Listen, I just started looking for that Blessing but we're in two of the biggest cities on Earth."

"Yeah, well at least you've got the psychic with you," Gwen joked.

Tosh smiled and looked back at Angel as she fretted over Gray, rubbing his back as he groaned, moving his hands to his stomach.

"Look after that weapon," Gwen added, "Jack's blood's got to be important."

Owen came over, taking the phone, "It's safe Gwen."

"If you find anything, you call me," Gwen ordered.

"You too. Good luck."

"Bye."

Owen moved over to Gray, ending the call, and put his hand on the man's shoulder, "You ok?" he asked.

Gray looked up, a bit startled that Owen, of all people, seemed to be actually concerned about him. He looked past him at Tosh, who was smiling and nodded at him, and he nodded himself, "I will be."

Owen gave him one more look before nodding, "Right," he turned, about to go, when Angel took his hand. He stopped, sighing, and nodded to himself once more, turning back to Gray, "Gray…"

The man looked up at him.

"You're a good man, at heart," he admitted, "I just want you to know that."

Gray stared at him a long moment, before nodding, "Thanks."

It wasn't an open forgiveness, he didn't expect it from Owen, not after what he'd done to Tosh, but it was as close as he would ever get to it, and for that he was grateful.

Angel smiled and squeezed Owen's hand, "Thank you."

~8~

Jack sighed, sitting on a chair of the small flat that UNIT had managed to secure for them, hunched over, nearly shaking, his whole body feeling…off and worn and hurting, "Fine place to die, in old Shanghai," he murmured.

"You're not dying," Ianto said firmly, "Don't say that."

"I'm tired," he looked up at the man fretting over him, "This mortal life, it hurts so much."

"Come on," Gwen moved over to him, helping him up, "Time to find out where the Blessing is."

Jack nodded and reached into his jacket, pulling out a small pocket knife, but Ianto took it from him, turning his hand over and pricking a small cut onto Jack's finger, squeezing a single drop of it out.

They watched as it fell to the floor, and condensed, before sliding across it in a single line, "Well, now," Oswald muttered, standing off to the side, knowing that any of them would kill him if given the chance without that Angel girl there, "Can't say I've been to China before, so I'm not well versed in their customs. But I've got to say...I never knew about that."

"Angel was right," Gwen murmured, "It's your blood."

"No wonder it's killing you," Ianto frowned as they watched the blood head for the window, "It's showing us the way."

Gwen threw the curtains open to see a small construction zone only a few streets away, "It's the Blessing. It's somewhere over there. And I think whatever it is," she glanced back at him, "It's calling you, Jack."

"Then we better go find it," he offered them a solemn grin.

Gwen nodded and grabbed her phone, "Tosh," she called, "Angel was right, use a drop of the blood, it'll show you where to go next."

"Got it…"

"Right," Ianto moved to a laptop they'd taken, "The blood's heading north-west. 15 degrees, 38 minutes, 39 seconds north. What have you got?"

"Tosh?" Gwen asked.

"It's heading south-east," Owen answered instead, "23 degrees, 6 minutes, 4 seconds south."

Jack winced, groaning as he tried to stand, "Ah! Damn it!"

"What's wrong?" Angel called, they could all hear the concern in her voice.

"Feels like the blood inside me is trying to get out, it's churning."

"Tell me about it," Gray muttered.

"If both cities are connected," Tosh was back, "It's like a pole."

"A secondary pole," Jack agreed, "The magnetic pole goes north to south, and now this, from Buenos Aires to Shanghai."

"But what is it?" Ianto frowned.

~8~

Jilly eyed the blonde woman as she spoke in Chinese to the various workers around her, watching as they began to…grab detonators and putty and wires, fixing them to the poles and walls around the work area.

"Forgive me," the blonde woman turned to Jilly, "But according to our spies, there are forces moving in, so we're advancing the plan. Midnight, after we're gone, we're blowing this thing sky high."

"Won't that stop the Miracle?" Jilly frowned.

"On the contrary," she smirked, "It'll become never-ending. The Blessing won't be hurt, just buried so that no one can ever change it again."

~8~

"Right," Gwen got up, "I'm going to follow," she took a hand held scanner from Ianto, the man staying behind, neither of them trusting Oswald alone with an injured Jack, "If I keep going 15 degrees, 38 minutes north, I'll find it. Wait for my call," she pointed at Jack, "And Tosh, Owen, Gray, Angel…you take care, ok? We might meet in the middle."

"We'll see you soon Gwen," Angel promised, "When all this is over."

Gwen waited only a moment for the call to end before she turned to Oswald with her gun out, "And you…just you wait. If this goes right, murder's coming back and Angel won't be here to save you."

And with that, she turned and strode out of the room, following the scanner.

~8~

"Buenos Aires," the blonde woman called to a comm., "This is Shanghai. We're setting detonation at 12 midnight. Confirm 1pm your location. Over."

Jilly looked up, hearing a man respond over the speakers, "One hour post meridian confirmed. What a beautiful day. Over."

~8~

A bald man in a suit stood before a similar chasm, shouting orders in Spanish as the workers ran around, setting up the detonators as he grinned, watching them.

~8~

"Buenos Aires and Shanghai," the blonde woman explained, "Perfect antipodes, give or take 100 miles or so. There's a slight deviation, because the Earth's not a perfect sphere," she glanced over at Jilly to see her staring at the chasm again, "Are you getting all this?"

"Oh, yes," Jilly nodded, absently holding out her recorder, "Every word. If that runs right through the center of the Earth, why isn't this thing a volcano?"

"Again, no idea. Isn't that wonderful?" she smirked, "The laws of the Blessing are beyond us. That's why it took so long to work out what it can do."

"How did you even _find_ it?"

"Well, we had to wait until the world grew up, until the information age became fast enough, so we could crunch numbers on a massive scale. Facts became visible that were never visible before, such as a tiny little statistic, hidden in the heart of Shanghai Old Town. The average life expectancy of those living within a two-mile radius of this point was exactly equal to the average life expectancy of the world. And it always had been. Say in 1998, the average life expectancy from birth on this planet was 66 years, 5 months, and 33 days. In this area in Shanghai, it was 66 years, 5 months, and 33 days exactly. Try going back 100 years to 1898. The average life expectancy was 49 years, 9 months, and 5 days. Shanghai, 49 years, 9 months, 5 days. It was as if something on _this_ spot was calibrating a matrix, subsisting alongside humankind in harmony.

"The Chinese didn't know about it?" Jilly asked, finding that hard to believe.

"We pay them to look the other way," the woman shrugged.

"It does make you seem kind of colonial."

"Well, is that such a bad word? Besides, we changed the whole of the world and this is just phase one," she smirked and looked back at the chasm.

~8~

Gwen rolled her eyes as a Chinese woman followed after her as she stormed through the halls of the woman's shop, chickens clucking as she shouted at her for disturbing them. Times like these she was glad Angel wasn't there, she really DIDN'T want to know what the woman was saying about her, she could guess though.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I've got to keep going 15 degrees north and your shop is in the way. So tough, really," she came to a thick metal door and banged on it, but it was locked, "I need to get out. Can I get out?" she looked at the woman as she backed up, shaking her head, speaking more Chinese, "If you open it, you get rid of me, ok? So door, gone, me bye-bye."

"No door," the woman managed to say, her accent heavy.

"No door?" Gwen frowned, "Why no door?"

"Bad place. Many ghost."

Gwen sighed, "Ok. Listen, if you open that door, I will give you all the money in the world," she dug into her bag and held out a wad of bills, "Yeah?"

The woman took the bills and stepped back, counting them, before looking at Gwen solemn. She rushed to the door, unlocking it and backing up just as quickly.

"Yeah, thanks," Gwen huffed, moving to pry the heavy door open herself, rushing through it…only to stop short at the sight before her.

It was an alley with what appeared to be a red screen with a light coming from within it at the end of it. It made her feel funny, it made her feel bad…shaken…

She quickly backed away, breathing heavily as she ran back into the shop and shut the door behind her, falling back on it and sliding down it.

"Very bad, yes?" the woman asked, still standing there.

"Very, very bad," Gwen took a breath, and pulled out her phone, "Jack…I think I found it."

~8~

Jack closed his phone, "Ianto, we're moving."

Ianto nodded, getting up and grabbed Oswald's arm, hefting him up, "Let's go."

"Anything you don't need, leave behind," Jack ordered them as he gathered his gun and Manipulator.

"We're coming back, though," Oswald frowned, seeing the men exchange solemn looks, "Isn't that right? We're coming back?"

"We don't know. Are we? Ah," Jack scoffed at him, "So much for your death fetish. When it all gets too real, huh?"

"That victim, Susie Cabina," Ianto looked at him, "How much choice did she have?"

"Who are you?" Oswald eyed them.

"Ianto Jones," Jack introduced them, "Captain Jack Harkness."

"No," Oswald shook his head, looking more at Jack than Ianto, "I spent a long time in prison, and I know the smile of a man who's done terrible things. And your friends. I've been watching them. Sometimes they like you, sometimes," he glanced at Ianto as he glared back at him, "They love you and sometimes, just once or twice, glittering away in those tiny little gaps...they _fear_ you," he smirked, "I wonder, has dear little Angel ever been scared of you?"

Jack just shook his head, "Never."

"Oh really?"

"Really," Jack said firmly.

"Jack's from the future," Ianto told him, "Literally from the future."

Oswald eyed him, "Then you must know. Do we make it through this day?"

"The future can change," Jack told him, "Angel's taught me that just by being here, just by being there for me and my team. My team Oswald, should be dead, would be dead, if it wasn't for her. The future is being written right now and Angel can only see so far. But one thing I _do_ know. I've seen the stars. I have seen the Universe. I have seen the Human Race become vast, magnificent, and endless. And I wish you could see it, Oswald. I wish you could see that too. 'Cos then you'd know how small you've made your life."

He gave Oswald one more firm glare before turning and striding out of the room, Ianto with him, leaving Oswald to his thoughts a moment longer before following them as well.

~8~

Angel was walking with Owen, Tosh, and Gray, her arm linked through Gray's as she led them carefully through the streets of Buenos Aires, when Tosh's phone rang, "Gwen?" Tosh answered, "What's wrong?" she was quiet a moment, before handing the phone to Angel, "She wants to talk to you."

Angel blinked, a bit surprised by that, but too the phone, "You ok Gwen?"

"Am I a bad person?" Gwen asked her.

She frowned, "Not at all," she told her, earnest, "You're the most amazing, strong, determined, minded woman I've ever met Gwen. You always try to do the right thing, uphold justice, protect people and the world. Why would you think differently Gwen?"

"I just…I felt something…"

"Tugging at your soul?" she guessed.

"Yeah."

"It's the Blessing."

"Yeah, I know," Gwen sighed, "I just…I feel like I'm killing him, my dad. If this goes right, the Miracle ends, my father dies."

Angel nodded, "Everything, all things, must die Gwen. Planets, people, eras, even the Universe itself will die one day. We don't like it. It hurts and it's terrible and the scar it leaves won't ever heal, but…" she nodded, "It's a natural part of things. To have life, you also need death. I'm sorry."

"Will it work?" Gwen whispered, "The…the trick we're going to pull. Will it work? Will everyone be ok?"

Angel smiled, "Yeah."

"You see that?"

"No," she laughed, "But I know it Gwen, you and Tosh and Owen and Ianto and Jack and Gray, you put Torchwood together…the world gets saved."

"And you put YOU with us and we get saved," Gwen let out a laugh of her own, "Every time Angel, every time we see you, it's like Jack said…you save us a little more each time."

"Just trying to help."

"And succeeding."

"Feel better then?"

"Yeah," Gwen breathed, "Loads really."

"Good."

"Thanks Angel."

"You're welcome."

There was a faint sound of footsteps and Gwen was back, "I've got to go, Jack and the others are here."

"Good luck," she told the woman as Gwen ended the call with a quick 'You too.'

~8~

The poor old Chinese woman shouted as Jack, Ianto, and Oswald came running down through the shop, disturbing the poor chickens again.

"Ok, what have we got?" Jack ran up to Gwen as she picked herself up off the floor.

"I've found it," Gwen nodded, "Through there."

Jack looked at the door, swallowing hard, knowing what it would mean, stepping through that door, "Let's go."

"One minute," Ianto called, moving to his side and kissing him, Oswald rolling his eyes at them till Gwen elbowed him in the gut, smiling at their gentle display of love.

When it had come time to determine who split up, Ianto refused to leave Jack's side, knowing what might happen to the man.

"Well then," Jack grinned when they pulled away, "Better make this worth it eh?"

"Yeah," Ianto nodded solemnly, squeezing Jack's hand.

Gwen turned and opened the door, letting them all through, into the alley.

~8~

Tosh and Owen followed Angel through the halls of a 'medical facility' in Buenos Aires, Gray grunting as he followed, holding his own, but seeming to struggle to keep it up the nearer they got to the Blessing. Tosh and Owen were even having a difficult time keeping themselves going, the entire place just felt…wrong.

They waited, hiding behind a corner, a moment before a small group of guards walked past with more explosives, listening till the lift doors pinged, before making their way around it.

"How do we get down there?" Owen asked, seeing the lift heading down.

"There's got to be stairs somewhere," Tosh looked around.

"This way," Angel called, leading them over to another door, holding it open for them as they rushed down before moving to take the lead, letting her feelings guide her.

~8~

Jack, Gwen, Ianto, and Oswald made quick work of the few guards that were in their way of getting into the facility and down to the Blessing, taking them out with some chokeholds and neck twists.

"There's going to be guards all the way in," Oswald remarked as Ianto and Jack carried the body of a guard into a back room, Gwen holding the door open for them, " You can't keep doing this, they'll find us."

"Shut up!" Gwen pointed at him, "Of all the bastards to bring…"

"You condemn me?" he scoffed, "You Category 1 men with your bare hands..."

"Keep your voice d…" Jack began.

"He's got a point," Ianto had to sigh, "We're just on the perimeter and we need to get deep inside?"

"Wait a minute," Jack spotted some markings on a crate beside him, "I was in China for the Boxer Rebellion, and I know what that lettering means," he pulled the crate down and pulled the lid off, grinning and laughing as he saw explosives on the inside, "Oswald," he glanced at the man, "I've changed my mind. I'm so glad you're here."

Ianto and Gwen looked at each other, starting to grin as Oswald closed his eyes, realizing what was about to happen.

~8~

Jilly looked over, hearing a computer beep, to see the blonde woman rush over to a security footage, "I knew it," the woman breathed, seeing Jack appear on the screen, getting into a lift with Gwen, Ianto, and Oswald.

"What's happening?" Jilly frowned.

"You're about to meet the Creator."

Jilly looked at the footage, squinting, "It's that soldier, Jack Harkness! He's with Oswald?"

They spun around as the lift rose to their level, the woman calling to the guards in Chinese as they grabbed guns and aimed it at the lift as it opened, revealing the four within, "Captain Jack Harkness. At last."

"No, no, no, no," Oswald shook his head, leaning causally against the back of the lift, "This isn't about Jack. No, ma'am. Excuse me, but it's not at all. My name is Oswald Danes. Well. Hmm. Good evening, Miss Kitzinger," he smirked at her, seeing her holding out her recorder like it was a weapon, "You've been promoted. And this is the new empire you're servicing? My, my, my, my, my, my, my."

"With all due respect, Mr. Danes," the blonde woman rolled her eyes at him, "You're a by-product of the Miracle. Not really relevant at all."

"That's what the Captain said. He tried to tell me that my life has become a very small thing. Tiny. And yet right here, right now, at the very end I would describe myself differently. I would call myself...vital," he unzipped his jacket to reveal he'd been strapped with explosives, had turned himself into a living bomb, making them all stiffen, "Madame, you're a fine woman. You should be careful now, very careful indeed. It seems like you've been planning some kind of an explosion, but I'd love to make sure you're still inside."

The woman glared at him as Jack, Ianto, and Gwen stepped out of the lift, smirking.

"Advantage Torchwood," Jack smirked.

"Well, I'm afraid we have a major disagreement here in Buenos Aires," a man's voice called over the speakers, "I'd say advantage Families. Say hello to your friends."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jack frowned.

"He means us," Gray called.

Jack stiffened.

"Gray?" Gwen gasped, "Oh, my God."

"Tosh, Owen?" Ianto frowned.

"We're here too," Owen's voice spoke.

"Hello," Tosh added.

"Where's Angel?" Jack shouted, "What have you done to her!?"

"Your sister is quite fine," the man spoke again, "Why not say hello?"

"Jack?" Angel called.

"Angie," he let out a breath, "What happened?"

"It seems your plans didn't go the way you'd hoped," the man chuckled.

The blonde woman smirked, turning to her soldiers to gesture them to raise their guns again, not seeing Jack and the team exchange a small smirk at that, oh how wrong that man was.

"I'll swap your standoff for my standoff," the man continued.

Jack just shook his head, which made Jilly frown, he was far too calm even knowing his team was in danger, "The thing is, we don't need explosives, or guns or threats, 'cos I've got the most powerful thing of all," he grinned and made his way down the stairs, towards the chasm, whipping out a knife and pricking his finger, holding it up at the chasm which sucked the blood right out of the cut, right into the chasm. He smirked, licking his finger, "It wants me...mortal blood. The only one in the whole world. So I suggest you're very careful with me, ok?"

"If you fail to take the Captain's advice," Oswald agreed, "You can certainly come to oblivion with me. Jack, you're the future man. You've seen wonders beyond this world, so tell us of these Blessings and Miracles."

Gwen frowned, the strange feeling in her gut even more powerful as she looked at the chasm, "What the hell is that thing?"

"Can you feel it?" Jack asked as they slowly stepped closer.

"Yeah," Gwen swallowed, seeming to need a moment to gather herself, "Oh, yeah. God, I can...ok. God. Oh, my God."

"What is it Jack," Ianto frowned, staring at it.

"It is said that it reflects your own self back at you," the blond woman eyed them as they stepped down the stairs, closer to the chasm, "What can you see?"

"Enough guilt to last me a lifetime," Gwen said, before nodding to herself, "But that's ok. I'm a working mother and everything I've done is to protect my family and my friends," she smiled, "Like a very wise woman once told me."

"I feel…regret," Ianto murmured, "For things I didn't do, things I should have done, things I…I waited too long to do," he glanced at Jack who smirked and winked at him.

"And you, Jack?" the blonde woman asked.

"I've lived so many lives," he sighed, "And now I can see them all. Hey. Not so bad," he grinned.

"Well, you might want to question your choice of weapon, soldier," Jilly huffed as she made her way down the stairs, glaring at Oswald as she passed, "Let's see. You brought the world's biggest bastard, wired him up to a bomb, then showed him his soul. Hmm, that's good work. You know, I feel really safe right now."

They looked back at Oswald who seemed to be struggling with himself, gagging and hunching over.

"Oswald?" Angel's voice called, "Keep it together. The Blessing…it's not stronger than humanity."

"What little he has left of it," Owen muttered, before they heard Tosh elbow him, "Oi!"

"Sin," Oswald gasped, "The Blessing feels like sin," he shook his head, straightening, "I guess I'm accustomed to sin."

"I still understand," Ianto blinked at it, "What are we looking at?"

"The Blessing," Gwen eyed it, "Is it the rock or is it the edge? What?"

"It's the gap in between," Angel spoke, "That nothingness. That space. It's like the Void, the space between worlds, but…alive. The world has been turning for over billions of years. With more than you know buried within it. I've seen Silurian settlements, Huon particle reconstruction, Racnoss ships with expansions of their hibernation matrixes…I can't say for sure, but…whatever it is, "It's been here since the Earth began."

"We're so used to these things being extraterrestrial," Jack murmured, "But this might be the most terrestrial thing of them all."

~8~

"So, you found the Blessing and you worked out the morphic field," Tosh began, staring down at the bald man as he held a gun at them, none of them all that concerned. They'd faced this same situation before, stared down the barrel of a gun. Never before with a psychic who could bring up a barrier to protect them before someone even fired, so really…nothing to worry about.

The Blessing though, did make them feel uncomfortable. For Tosh it was silence, it was a life spent being too quiet, about things she wanted to do, things she wanted to say, sticking up for herself and defending herself. But not anymore. Owen was always goading her, at her side, encouraging her to speak up, calling her brilliant and other sweet things. Owen…he felt the confusion and the confliction, the arrogance he'd lived his life with. The loss that had come with it, the way he'd suffered those loses, but found that peace and comfort in Tosh.

Gray couldn't look at the Blessing without feeling crushing guilt, for what he'd nearly done to the people close to his brother. The loneliness and the suffering he'd felt at the hands of the aliens he'd been taken by. But then…a peace, a comfort in having found his place in the Universe, in having found a sister and a brother, and a calm and reassurance that came with knowing you were finally doing the right thing.

"The Blessing exists in a symbiotic relationship with the Human Race," the man stated, "It transmits a morphic field around the planet, binding us together, like magnetism, like sunlight."

"But finding it wasn't enough," Owen glared at him, "You had to experiment on it too."

"No," Angel shook her head, frowning at the chasm, "They fed it, didn't you?"

"We fed it the blood of an immortal," the woman with Jack stated, "We had one remarkable artifact. We found a second remarkable artifact. The combination was inevitable."

"So the Blessing absorbed the blood, copied it like a new template," Gwen called, "So the system changed its setting?"

"It did it to protect itself," Angel blinked, unable to really feel anything about herself reflected at her, she wasn't human, the chasm was set for humanity, but…she could feel other things as she just…stared at the chasm, "Because it hurt," she looked at the man, "You were hurting it. It turned the attack into a gift, but it's exerting itself to sustain every single person on the planet."

"This whole Miracle," Jack realized, "It's trying to be kind."

"It's very old, and very alone," Angel whispered, "It just doesn't want to hurt anymore."

"But you've seen what immortality for the Human Race means," Owen glared at the man, "The pain, why would you _want_ that?"

"This is only stage one," the man smiled.

"But the whole world is in ruins," Ianto argued.

"The Miracle shocked the economy," the woman countered, "The economy collapsed. We tear down in order to rebuild. And now it's almost within sight...the new world."

"With no room for the poor," Gray ground out, "The weak or the ones that don't fit in."

"That's the way the world works now. We're just making it official. The Families have just been waiting. Now we can step in to control the banks. The banks control government. The government controls people. Soon we'll be able to decide who lives, how long, where and why."

"It's about time!" Jilly cheered, which made all of them, even Angel, roll her eyes.

"Oh, great," Gwen muttered, "The world according to Kitzinger, is it?"

"Listen, you can bleed your liberal heart all over the place," Jilly spat, "But are you really going to tell me the world was working before? 'Cos I have worked for the rich, and the powerful, and the obese. I have stared into the high end of Western society and let me tell you, it is like shoveling an open sewer. These Families...they want to make the world fitter, more compact, more disciplined. And I like the sound of that. That sounds like salvation."

"It's nothing of the sort," Angel frowned.

"But before you launched this brave new world," Jack cut in gently, "You had to deal with one more thing. Yeah...me."

"So as soon as the Miracle began, you sent assassins after Jack," Ianto realized.

"His blood endangers the plan," the man shrugged, "We had to be rid of it."

"Well, you failed!" Jack told them, "I got to Shanghai. I've got the only mortal blood on the planet. If it gets into the Blessing, life switches back. I can make the whole world mortal."

The woman laughed, the man laughing as well in front of them, "No," she said.

"Oh, no," the man agreed.

"Sadly not."

"He's not listening," the man chuckled.

"He doesn't seem to get it."

"No, no, no," he nodded.

"Polar dynamics."

"Everything on this axis operates in a polar-dynamic field."

"You COULD reset the Blessing, your blood COULD make the whole world mortal again, but only by introducing it to both cities at once."

"Blood in Buenos Aires..."

"Blood in Shanghai..."

"Entering the Blessing simultaneously."

" _That's_ how we fed it."

"That's how we made the world immortal."

"And for you...I'm sorry, it's impossible."

"You did very well, almost worked it out, but we've got the blood now Jack," he looked down at the small case, the contain they'd put the packets of Jack's blood in, and grabbed it, "All that spare blood of yours, so sad it went to waste," and with that, he chucked it over the side of the scaffolding, letting it fall to the ground, the case strong enough to withstand the impact of the fall, the four people before him, just watching it go.

"So we're just going to have to kill you," the woman sighed…

But then Jack started to laugh.

"I hardly see the humor in this situation," the man before them frowned, before shrugging, "But perhaps if you need more convincing…" he lifted his gun at Angel, the team tensing but not making a move to stop him.

Angel just blinked at the gun in her face.

"You really love to underestimate people don't you?" Jack asked.

"How so?" the woman didn't seem impressed with his laughter.

"Your assassin, on Floor 33, he called Angie psychic. You know she's psychic, no idea how, but you do. And yet you didn't think she saw this coming?" he laughed loudly at that, the team starting to chuckle as well as Angel just smiled.

"We snuck up on her," the man countered, "We captured her!"

"Because we knew it would get us here faster you ponce," Owen told the man.

Angel shook her head, it was just like with the Master, with Martha. She had 'pulled a Doctor' so to speak, used the countdown. She knew that the Families would do whatever they could to get to Jack, and that meant keeping them alive as bait or leverage. They'd be brought right to the Blessing.

"Never ever underestimate a psychic," Jack laughed, "She knew…exactly what was coming."

~oOo~

_"Jack!" Angel shouted, making them all look at her, standing there with her arms crossed, tears in her eyes, "You can't go."_

_"Why?" Jack frowned._

_"Please," she half begged, "Don't go…"_

_"Angie…" he moved over to her, putting his hands on her shoulders, "What's wrong?"_

_"I saw it," she whispered, the tears falling, "It's the blood Jack…they needed immortal blood to change the world…"_

_"So we'll need mortal blood to change it back," he realized, "We put me at one end, and those packets at the other," he shrugged._

_But Angel shook her head, "They'll know you're coming," she told him, "They'll…they'll…do anything to stop either team, to get the blood."_

_Jack was quiet, "Transfusion," he murmured, "It's the only way to make sure both blood supplies get there," he looked at his team, "We can't risk them lifting the packets."_

_The team was silent, not knowing what to do._

_"It's more than that," Angel shook her head, "It'll take too much blood…it'll kill you."_

_"But I'm immortal," Jack countered, "If we change this back, I'd be immortal again."_

_"But what it if kills you before the reversal takes affect," Owen agreed._

_"Then I die with honor, fighting the good fight," he shrugged._

_"Jack," Ianto shook his head, not liking that._

_"What if Angel goes with you," Tosh supplied, "She's been able to heal you."_

_"But what about the other person?" Gwen argued._

_"Me," Gray stepped up, "The other person…it should be me."_

_"Gray," Jack shook his head._

_"Jack," Gray cut in, "We're brothers, we share the same blood. I'm the only person you can safely do the transfusion to without harming them."_

_"You could die!" Jack shouted, not wanting to think about that. He'd lost his brother for so long, lost him even as he got him back, till Angel had stepped in._

_"Then maybe I'd finally make up for everything I've done," he said quietly, "Maybe I'll have earned forgiveness."_

_"No…" Angel shook her head. They all looked at her, startled to think she was saying no to Gray earning forgiveness, but then they saw, the tears in her eyes, the way her face was scrunching, it had nothing to do with that, and everything to do with the fact that her brothers were offering to sacrifice themselves, "You can't…"_

_"Angie…"_

_"Please," she begged, starting to cry, the sight breaking their hearts, "I can't do it. I can't lose another brother…"_

_Jack frowned, "Another?"_

_Angel just shook her head, falling back as she sat on the sofa, her head in her hands, "My companion," she gasped, trying to speak through her tears, "He…we went undercover as brother and sister once, and…it stuck," she looked at Jack, "Rory was like my little brother and…he died…worse than that Jack…he was erased from time. The Doctor and I are the only ones who remember him and I can't…" she sobbed, "I can't lose another brother."_

_Gray looked at her, tears in his eyes and put his hand on Jack's shoulders when the man went to comfort her, squeezing it, silently telling him to let HIM do it._

_He moved before Angel, kneeling down and taking her hands, "Angie…look at me," he called softly, waiting till she could open her eyes, before continuing, "I need to do this…for YOU."_

_She blinked, "What?"_

_He gave her a small smile, "When we first met…I was in a bad place, I was in the dark and I was hurt and angry and wanted other people to hurt too. And I hurt them, I did, in terrible ways that I will never ever forgive MYSELF for," he glanced at the team and back to her, "I see the way they look at me sometimes, like they're waiting for me to snap, to go on a rampage, to start hurting people again. Even Jack…" he added quickly as Jack began to argue, "Even he looks at me at times wary, oh he'll be the first to defend me, yeah, but…every now and again, I seem him watch me more closely. And that's fine," he nudged her, "Big brothers are supposed to do that right?"_

_Angel could only nod, still not sure what he was getting at._

_"You, Angie," he smiled again, "YOU never looked at me like that. The moment I opened my eyes and realized what I'd done, what I'd become, the moment I saw you you NEVER looked at me like that. You always, have always, looked at me like you trust me. Like you believe in me. Like you have faith in me. Like you think I'm a good person."_

_"You are," she said quietly._

_"Maybe," he shrugged, "But I need to prove that to myself first. You're the only one who's ever had that kind of faith and trust that I'm good deep inside and that I can be a better person than what those aliens tried to make me. If I do this," he squeezed her hand, "If I can help save the world, then maybe I'll be a little closer to believing it, to making your faith in my justified."_

_"You don't need to prove anything to me Gray."_

_"I know," he nodded, "But I need to prove it to myself."_

_Angel bit her lip, thinking for a long while before nodding to herself, "I'm going with you then," she decided, looking at the team, "I think…I think Jack will be ok, he'll come back," she smiled at him, "He always comes back."_

_Jack nodded and winked at her._

_"If I go with you," Angel turned to Gray, "I can heal you and make sure you're ok too."_

_Gray nodded, "Ok."_

_Angel leaned forward and hugged him tightly, Gray smiling over her shoulder._

_He pulled away and stood up, "Owen…" he looked at the man, "I think you ought to come with me too."_

_"Why?" Owen frowned._

_"Because you're the only one who would shoot me no matter what," he said, he'd seen it before, the look in Owen's eyes, like he wanted to murder him, "The girls won't, Ianto won't leave Jack's side," Ianto nodded at that, "So it needs to be you."_

_Owen nodded, "Consider it done."_

_Gray nodded too, "So that's the plan then," he looked at Jack._

_Jack sighed, "Let's get started."_

~oOo~

Gray grinned and pulled out a knife, slicing his finger and holding it up to the chasm, letting the blood flow right out of it, sucked at the nothingness, making the entire room shake, making the room in Shanghai shake as well.

"What was that?" the woman screamed, "What happened?"

"That's impossible," the man stared at Gray in horror, "No way. There's nothing special about you!"

"You did all that research about Angel, didn't you?" Gray laughed, shaking his head, "You didn't look at me though, Jack's my brother," he told the man, "His blood is my blood."

"We knew this blood was important," Tosh told them, "So as soon as we arrived..."

"I transfused it into Gray," Owen finished.

"And exchanged my blood for Jack's," Gray added, "Oh it should have killed me, bleeding me nearly dry, but I've had worse, and we're all living now because of you and your Miracle Day," he glared.

"And you let us right on in," Angel looked at the chasm.

"Oswald," Gray called, "Get ready!"

~8~

"Get him out of there!" the blonde woman ordered and the room burst into chaos.

But Jack just laughed, "We've got blood on both sides of the world!"

"But they will die," the woman cut in, "Is that what you want? The Blessing will take every last drop. You'll both die, gentlemen. You'll both kill yourselves. You will die in a pit in Shanghai. Is that what you want?"

Jack laughed, "You really, _really_ like underestimating our sister, don't you?"

"I think they do Jack," Gray laughed, "You ready?"

He nodded, "Oh yes," he turned to face the chasm, "Ianto?"

Ianto moved behind him, taking a gun Gwen offered, "Ready."

He looked back over his shoulder at the man and smiled, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Ianto nodded.

"This is it Gray."

~8~

Gray moved before the chasm, "Nothing's going to stop us," he agreed.

"I think this might!" the man shouted, turning his gun on Tosh and firing…

When a golden wall flew up before her, Angel moving in front of the woman who leapt back into Owen's arms, "I don't like people attacking my family," she told the man, who stared at her in horror, lowering his arm in shock.

"And I don't like men shooting at my wife," Owen glared, lifting his own gun and shooting the man between the eyes, sending him stumbling back, over the edge of the scaffolding, falling down into the darkness.

"Angie?" Jack called over the comms..

"Everything's fine Jack," Angel swallowed, moving over to Tosh's side and taking Owen's place, her arm around the woman's shoulder as Owen moved behind Gray, aiming his gun at the man.

"We're ready Jack," Gray told him.

~8~

Jack nodded, "Me too," he looked over at Gwen, "I'm sorry."

Gwen swallowed and gave him a brief nod, knowing what that meant, if they did this, if the ended the Miracle, her father and everyone else who would have died was going to. But that was just it, no one should have control over when someone lived or died, and right now, they were just giving nature back her course.

Jack turned back to the chasm, "Do it!" he ordered.

Ianto swallowed hard and took a breath, firing at Jack, right though the right side of his chest, the blood pouring out of him and at the chasm.

~8~

"Thank you Owen," Gray closed his eyes, holding out his arms as he readied himself.

Angel and Tosh looked away as Owen frowned, his jaw clenching, before he fired as well, through the right side of his chest, the same flow of blood soaring into the chasm as well.

~8~

As the blood flowed into the chasm, all over the world, the near dead took a deep breath, and breathed out their last, passing peacefully, all at once.

Rhys and Mrs. Cooper sat on either side of Mr. Cooper, holding his hand as he too passed.

~8~

Back in the chasm chambers, the rooms began to shake as Jack and Gray fell to the ground.

The blonde woman and Jilly tried to run, but Oswald grabbed hold of the blonde, Gwen tackling Jilly to the ground, back handing her across the face, knocking her out, before she rushed over to Jack's side, Ianto already there.

"I'm giving you this one chance!" Oswald shouted at them as they checked on Jack, now that the Miracle had been reversed, Jack would be immortal again, they could only hope Angel was right, that everything would be ok, that he'd gasp back to life and hadn't been killed before the reversal had hit.

"I'll give you estates!" the blonde begged as Oswald kept a grip on her, "I'll give you places to hunt!"

~8~

"Gray!" Owen shouted as he ran to the man's side, putting pressure on the man's wound as Gray's head lulled to look at them, still conscious despite the pain and blood loss, "Angel!" he looked at her.

Angel ran over, moving to kneel beside her brother as Owen stepped back to give her room, moving to Tosh to keep her save from the rocks falling from the ceiling as Angel focused.

"It'll be ok, Gray," she whispered, placing her hands on his chest, on either side of his wound, concentrating on her hands as the golden glow of the Vortex appeared, wafting out of them and right to his wound seeping into it.

She put as much as she could into it, gasping and falling back when the hole closed up and Gray's back arched, the man gasping a much needed breath of air with his lung healed.

"Come on," Angel scrambled to his side, helping him up his arm over her shoulder as she followed Owen and Tosh to the lift, needing to get out of there.

Tosh grabbed the detonator off the table, rushing to the lift and getting in.

~8~

"Come on Jack!" Ianto slapped Jack's face…a moment before the man gasped to life.

They looked at his chest, watching as the wound in his chest closed up, "He changed back!" Gwen cheered, "He's immortal again!"

"Better run, Torchwood!" Oswald shouted, "I'm taking this thing with me! The whole thing!"

"Come on," Jack struggled to get up, Gwen and Ianto helping him up the stairs to the lift.

"Please!" the blond woman begged, "For God's sake, help me! Help me!"

"Oh, soon I'll see her!" Oswald cheered.

"You won't see anybody! You're going to hell, Danes!"

"But that's where they go! All the bad little girls, they run straight to hell, and I'm following!"

Jilly had just started to wake, looking around, confused for a moment, before seeing the trio in the lift, and ran for it, but they'd already closed the gates, staring at her solemnly from the other side.

"No!" she screamed, "Please no! Take me with you!"

Jack just reached over and pushed a button, sending them up.

"No!"

"Susie, keep running!" Oswald laughed madly, "I'm coming to get you! Run! Faster! Faster!"

~8~

The two sets of Torchwood teams ran out from their lifts, across the facility grounds, till they were far enough away to look back. Tosh pressing her detonator as Oswald pressed his, the entire complex exploding before them, burying the blessing, sealing it off forever.

~8~

A man sat in the park, the same man who had been meeting Jilly, as though waiting for her to appear. The files and records he'd managed to find said nothing about Jilly being caught in either explosion at the Blessing sites. He knew she'd come back, they always came back.

"She won't," someone said beside him.

He looked over to see a woman with black hair in a blue dress and black cowboy boots sitting there.

"I'm sorry?"

"Jilly," Angel cut in, looking at him, "She was in Shanghai, Jack says he's sorry, but I don't quite believe him."

"I don't know what you're talking about," the man stiffened.

"You know I know who you are," Angel countered, "Those others, that blonde woman, that bald man, what's left of the Ablemarch and Frines families," she eyed him, "And you, the last heir of the Costerdanes."

"What do you want?" the man frowned.

"Don't make a second attempt," she warned him, "Your plan B…forget it."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because," she shrugged, "You will NEVER succeed," she looked over her shoulder and he followed her gaze to see the Torchwood team at the end of the path, watching him, "I'm psychic," she whispered to him, before getting up, "I know," she looked at him once more, "A lot of people have told me I'm quite like a human, and I suppose I am, and maybe that's why I was meant to help. But I warn you, just this once, don't try again…or next time…next time the Doctor will be the one to deal with you. And he won't be as kind as I was."

"How is threatening me being kind?" he scoffed.

She blinked, "I'm not threatening you," she told him, "I'm warning you. If I wanted to threaten you, I'd have let them come talk to you instead," she nodded at the team once more, "I hope you'll think about it, because they'll be watching you. And so will I."

And with that, she turned and walked down the path, back towards the team, who turned and walked off with her, leaving the man to his thoughts.

~8~

The Torchwood team was back in the hub, having just come from Gwen's father's funeral, none of them dressed in black, because that was not the sort of man Mr. Cooper was. He wouldn't have wanted them to be sad, but happy, so they'd dressed in their usual clothes, been there for Gwen and then headed back to the Hub for one last gathering.

Gwen had left Anwen with Rhys and her mother, the team telling her to be with them, but she'd shaken her head, saying she wanted to be with them for the moment, that she wanted to see it.

Which had confused Angel as to what she meant.

"There's ten funerals every hour these days...catching up with the backlog," Owen sighed, rubbing his eyes, the autopsies in the hospitals had been overrun.

"Thanks," Tosh grimaced, "That's made us all feel better."

"You think if that Blessing was so kind, it could've shown some sort of...grace," Gwen sighed, thinking of how her father had died, hadn't even been able to hang on long enough for her to get there.

"UNIT's sealed those sites up forever," Ianto added, coming in with a report.

"Let that thing stay buried," Jack nodded, plopping down on the table, sitting beside Angel.

"I think I should head to the Plass," Angel said after a moment, "I…I think the Doctor's on his way."

She could feel it, he was on his way and…she wanted to be there, to get into the TARDIS before the others could come and say hello. She knew, she was very sure, that they knew something was bothering her at the beginning, if they could tell that just from seeing her…they'd know, they'd know immediately that something was wrong with the Doctor.

And then they'd try to kill him.

And with Miracle Day over and all those bodies…she didn't want more death.

Jack and Gray would kill him, they'd hurt him and beat him and there would be shouting and…she just didn't want to deal with that at the moment. She didn't want to have to explain what had happened, or what she thought had happened. She'd been…happier, the last few weeks, with the team…she didn't want to have to bring up what had made her sad again.

And she knew she could use Gwen's sorrow over her father as an excuse for them to all stay there, but she'd have to leave soon.

She was nearly certain that the team was getting suspicious of her pregnancy as well. They'd noticed her appetite, how tired she got, the decaf tea she'd been drinking, her cravings…soon enough they'd notice more and she needed to leave before that happened.

That…that would kill her more to talk about than the Doctor's amnesia. She'd only ever told Rory and that had taken so much out of her, and Rory was gone now. She…she didn't feel right sharing that secret with anyone else at the moment, the loss of her companion was still too fresh. She knew she'd have to tell them eventually but…

She wasn't sure if the baby would make it. She didn't want to tell anyone until she knew, for sure, that the baby would make it, that it was far enough out of danger, healthy enough to survive…THEN she'd tell them. When she knew it would make it. It would hurt too much to tell them and see them get excited and then lose the baby.

She prayed she wouldn't lose it, but…she didn't want to jinx it either.

"Before you go," Gray called, walking in with a laptop, setting it down on the table before her, "There's something we wanted to show you."

"What?" she looked at him.

He just leaned in and pressed a button, turning it on…

And her mouth fell open.

"Angel!" Mickey Smith shouted as he and Martha appeared on webcam.

"How are you?" Sarah Jane smiled, Luke, Rani, and Clyde with her.

"Still with the same clothes," Donna jokingly rolled her eyes, "Don't you ever change?"

"What…" Angel shook her head, looking up at the team in confusion as they gathered around her, complete, entirely shocked at the sight before her. Her family was webcaming, all of them, smiling at her, "What…"

"One more 'what' and you'll sound just like the Doctor," Donna joked.

"What are you all doing here?" Angel finally managed to get out, tears in her eyes.

"With the Miracle Day and all," Mickey began, "We knew you were out there helping, didn't want to distract you or get in the way."

"Never," Angel told them, "Oh my God you're all here!" she started laughing.

"Of course!" Sarah Jane smiled, "Jack told us you were on Earth for a bit and we wanted to say hello!"

"Hello!" she waved at them.

"That was you with the Miracle thing wasn't it?" Donna asked, "I mean, who else had experience with Morphic fields."

Angel shook her head, "Now YOU sound like the Doctor."

"Thank you!" Donna beamed.

"We wanted to say thanks," Martha added, "I spent all that time on Earth, during the Year-That-Never-Was talking about you and the Doctor, how you do so much but no one ever says thanks."

"But not us," Mickey smiled.

"We know what you did," Sarah Jane told her.

"It's brilliant," Luke added as Rani and Clyde agreed with him.

"You're brilliant," Donna nodded, "And don't you forget it supergirl."

Angel let out a breath, tears falling now, as she smiled, a real, true, HUGE smiled, "I won't," she promised, crossing her hearts, "I promise."

And she wouldn't.

She'd spent so long, thinking that…maybe the Doctor had forgotten her because she just…wasn't good enough, maybe he'd regretted Mating to her, maybe he wanted someone…better…like River Song.

But…now, with her companion and her family there…how could she believe that? There, before her, was all the proof she needed that she wasn't a mistake, she wasn't nothing, she wasn't something to be regretted. All of them had met her, all of them had gotten to know her, and none of them would ever give up their friendship with her for anything.

And that meant the world to her.

Because if THEY didn't regret her…how could the Doctor?

No…it had to be something else. Whatever reason he'd forgotten her…it wasn't out of regret.

"I missed you," she told them quietly, " _So_ much."

"Oh we miss you too!" Martha gushed.

"I haven't gotten a hug from my Pilot in too long!" Mickey agreed.

"You come see us sometime," Sarah Jane lightly ordered her, "For tea or a chat or…anything."

"And we need to have another Gingers United meeting," Donna reminded her.

"Yeah," Angel nodded, "I'll be around much more, cross my hearts," she crossed them again.

"Brilliant," Jack cheered, putting an arm around Angel's shoulders, grinning widely at that, the entire team was beaming, seeing her so happy and touched.

Angel had just turned to them, to thank them, when a small alarm went off.

"Spike in Artron Energy in the Plass," Tosh called, checking on it.

"That would be the Doctor," Angel nodded, getting up, "I'll see you all soon," she told the others on webcam as they waved and called goodbyes to her, "Thank you," she turned to Jack, hugging him tightly, followed by Gray and the rest of the team.

"Don't be a stranger!" Jack called as she made her way to the hug entrance.

"I won't," she laughed, giving them one more wave before the doors closed in front of her.

Jack's smile fell completely as he turned back to the webcam to see the others quiet as well, "Did you see it?"

They all nodded, "Something's wrong," Donna said what they were all thinking.

They'd all noticed something wrong with her the moment they saw her. But they all knew…they just had to be patient until she told them.

~8~

Angel walked though the Plass, unable to help smiling when she caught sight of the TARDIS off to the side and walked up to it. She paused at the doors, rubbing the corner of the box, "Miss me girl?"

She smiled, feeling the wood grow warm beneath her hand, and took a breath, pushing the doors open without a key, stepping into the room…

"Angel!" the Doctor cheered, rushing over, "Perfect!" he pulled her back to the console, "Just in time! I was about to take Amy to the Van Gogh exhibit at the art museum and I know you like museums so I wanted to pick you back up and…"

"Angel!" Amy called, seeing the Time Lady as she entered the console room, having been in the kitchen when the box thumped, knowing what that meant, a landing, and wanted to see what was happening, "Oh thank God!" she hugged the Time Lady tightly, "Never, ever leave me alone with him again."

"Why?" Angel laughed a bit.

"He doesn't stop talking," Amy told her, serious.

Angel nodded at that, "Earache?"

"Like you can't believe," Amy linked her arm with Angel's, "And he barely managed to get us to the last few stops in one go or one piece!"

"Oi!" the Doctor pointed at her, "That is…not my fault."

Angel shook her head, "Would you like some help now?" she offered.

"Please," he nodded, rushing around the controls.

Angel moved away from Amy to go help, Amy watching the girl closely as she and the Doctor piloted the box…she hadn't said it but…

The earache…it was because ALL the Doctor talked about while Angel was with that Jack man was her.

~8~

"Really?!" Gwen shouted as she, Jack, and Gray sat behind a car on the streets, "They couldn't even give us a _day_!?"

"Sontarans like to attack when they think they can win," Jack remarked, cocking his gun.

It hadn't even been a day since the end of the Miracle and a small fleet of Sontarans had decided to attack, which left Torchwood to deal with the aliens who thought that, with all the suddenly dead, that the Earth would be easier to conquer.

What was with everyone underestimating Earth's defenses?"

"We need more cover," Gray looked around, "There!" he pointed to a wall a few feet away, but one not covered by a car or anything, out in the open. He bit his lip, looking in the opposite direction, "Jack," he turned to the man, "Go!" he shoved him and Gwen towards the wall before getting up and running in the opposite direction, distracting the Sontarans into firing at him, trying to give them time.

"Gray!" Jack shouted, not moving, especially when one blast struck Gray in the chest as he'd turned to fire back at the aliens, "No!"

He and Gwen leapt up, running out from around the car and firing wildly at the Sontarans, striking the five remaining soldiers down. When the last one had fallen, they ran back to Gray's side.

"Gray!" Jack grabbed his brother's face, trying to wake him as Gwen took his wrist, feeling for a pulse.

"I'm sorry Jack," she shook her head, swallowing hard, "He's gone…he's dead…"

"No," Jack panted, "No…" it couldn't be, not Gray, not after he'd just gotten him back. Not after surviving Miracle Day, "He can't be. He…"

They jerked back, startled, when Gray…

Gasped awake.

"What?" Gwen stared at him.

"What?!" Jack shook his head, hardly daring to believe it.

"What happened?" Gray looked at them, before feeling his chest, recalling how he'd been shot but…there was no wound, "Jack?"

Jack could only blink, "That's impossible."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked the little twists involved and the little changes. Jilly being caught in the Blessing explosion, Martha helping Gwen's father, the web-chat at the end, and Gray! I know a lot of you probably hoped it would be Ianto to become immortal, but I couldn't see Ianto leaving Jack's side when he faced death and they didn't know immortality would be the result of the transfusion. I can say here, it IS the result of the transfusion (in this story) and not anything Angel did in healing Gray :) I also felt like we saw more in Children of Earth that one of Jack's biggest fears is to lose his family, this way, he'll be able to make up time with his brother and Gray, who has finally learned to live and love life gets to have all those years of torment made up for in living to see the wonders of the Universe :) As for it being Doctor-lite, I've sort of portrayed Angel to be more of a human-Time Lord, so I could see her being a part of this more than the Doctor :)
> 
> I know you all probably wanted Angel to tell them about the amnesia and the baby, but I think, after all that happened, she doesn't want the focus to fall on her. She's just helped save the world and her brothers and the last thing she wants is to be reminded of/have to talk about what happened and then have to deal with the mess of them trying to kill the Doctor and him not knowing why and all that lol :) And for the baby, I could see her being terrified of telling them and them getting excited and if she lost it to see the pity in their eyes. She wouldn't want to get their hopes up about that :( I can promise you though that someone else will find out about the pregnancy before the end of Series 5 and that Torchwood will learn about it in the future as well, whether during it or after the baby is born (or dies) we'll have to wait and see }:)
> 
> But next we get Vincent! And we'll have more explanation as to where Amy and the Doctor were too :)


	33. Vincent and the Angel: Kindness

It was a warm day in the country, the sun shining in the sky, the clouds a soft white, the world quiet with the sounds of nature. A gently gust of wind blew through the tall stalks of wheat in the field when a murder of crows took off into the blue sky and flew over a dirt road that cut the field. A man watched them go for only a minute before turning back to his painting easel, dabbing his brush into his paints and continuing to make thick brush strokes, using the most vivid colors as he painted an impressionistic version of the landscape before him, truly seeing the wonders hidden in the very simple nature laid out in the yellow-orange wheat. He peered up over the easel, his blue eyes scanning the land as his red hair peeked out from beneath his straw hat before getting back to work painting what would later be known as 'Wheatfield with Crows' by none other than Vincent Van Gogh.

~8~

Amy eagerly led the Doctor and Angel into the Musee D'orsay and straight to the Vincent Van Gogh exhibit, far too excited to see her favorite painter's works for real, as an older man in a bowtie discussed the paintings with a small group, "So this is one of the last paintings Van Gogh ever painted. Those final months of his life were probably the most astonishing artistic outpouring in history. It was like Shakespeare knocking off _Othello_ , _Macbeth_ and _King Lear_ over the summer hols," he smiled as that earned a little chuckle from the tour group, "And especially astonishing because Van Gogh did it with no hope of praise or reward."

"Thanks for bringing me," Amy whispered to the Time Lords as they looked around.

"It's no problem at all Amy," Angel smiled at her.

For once, she was _not_ going to think of this as a museum, because that would just lead her to think of the museum Van Statten had kept her in, how the Doctor's old old self had rescued her, to the museums she'd visited with the last Doctor, the little intrigues they'd gotten into, and then to the last museum they'd been in, how River had appeared. No, this...this was just going to be a trip to see the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh. She hadn't really thought much of art in the Academy, could barely draw more than a stick figure, though she was rather good at drawing things related to a TARDIS. Well, she had to be. If she was ever in need of a part, chances were she'd need a picture to show her sister of what she wanted. They'd discovered rather early that, while _she_ had a talent with the TARDISes, her sister had lacked it. She didn't like getting dirty or sweaty or covered in TARDIS fluids and didn't ever have much luck in convincing the TARDISes to let her try and fix them, unplug their wires and reconnect their controls and things of that nature. Her father had then made her more in charge of the spare parts, the different pieces of tech and other items that were harvested from other TARDISes to keep track of. Her sister invented all sorts of names for the components she was required to catalogue and keep track of and keep organized...really weird names like 'the zig-zag plotter' and the 'wibbly lever.' She knew her sister just couldn't be bothered to remember their actual names. In fact, quite a few Time Lords actually called their controls things like that, but really, they had proper names.

And Time Lords wondered why, sometimes, their TARDISes gave them such problems. They were always being treated like machines instead of living beings with a consciousness of their own. Calling their parts ridiculous names was as bad as someone going up to a human and asking them why there was a grapefruit in the middle of their face when it was just their nose. It wasn't very nice.

The Doctor was a prime example of that. She'd tried to teach him the proper names a few times, but he was as hopeless as her sister had been. But it made her smile a little, at least SHE knew, and she could tell the TARDIS appreciated that very much.

"You're being so nice to me," Amy continued, focusing on the Doctor now, "Why are you being so nice to me?"

The Doctor, who had been looking at Angel with a soft smile as she looked at a self-portrait of the man, turned to Amy sharply, "Sorry what?"

Amy rolled her eyes at that, she _should_ have expected that, ever since Angel had gone to visit her brother, the Doctor...hadn't stopped looking at her when she wasn't looking. It was like he was trying to make up for her not being there the last few trips. She'd noticed, during them, that he would look over his shoulder as he talked, as though expecting Angel to be there, and he'd hold the door open a moment longer as though waiting for her to join them, only to remember she wasn't there. And then...she'd see a little...sad look come on his face and he'd look back the way towards the TARDIS almost as though he was debating going back and picking the Time Lady up, before he'd shake his head and go after her instead.

"You're being nice to me," Amy repeated.

"I'm always nice to you," he argued.

"Not like this. These places you're taking me, Arcadia, the Trojan Gardens..."

She probably _would_ have enjoyed those trips, they really were lovely, nice and calm and gorgeous...but the Doctor literally _hadn't_ shut up at all. All he'd talked about...was Angel. They entered the gardens and he'd comment on how there was a garden in the TARDIS Angel was tending to, how she might like a few flowers to add...and then he tried to steal some flowers and their seeds and they'd ended up running for their lives. Arcadia had been like a large amusement park, and the Doctor had pouted when she refused the rollercoasters, citing that Angel would be fine on them, given how bumpy the TARDIS was. And then they'd found a supposed 'psychic' booth and the Doctor had flown off the handle, shouting that the woman wasn't a real psychic...getting all offended and huffy that some fraud was claiming to have abilities like Angel's and that it was all a hoax...and they'd gotten kicked out of there as well.

The Doctor had only made it two trips, literally just _two_ , before he'd stormed into the TARDIS shouting about how 'Nope, nope, no, he couldn't do it,' and how it was a mistake to leave Angel with Torchwood knowing the trouble they got into. Not even seeming to realize the trouble _he'd_ just gotten them into. Two trips and he'd almost...fallen apart, if she had to describe it. It was really worrying actually. He'd started off fine but...the longer the trip lasted, the more almost...manic...he'd become. He started off excited to see the gardens, but then became obsessed with getting flowers for Angel, gone to an amusement park to just have a day of fun and gotten all jumpy and huffy and almost...irritated with her. He'd compared her to Angel on more than one occasion and she knew it was expected for him to miss the Time Lady, she doubted they'd been separated as long as they had ever, but it was a bit ridiculous. By the time they'd met the psychic he'd been storming and stalking through the grounds like a man on a mission and just...lost it.

Seeing the psychic had been the last straw. Everything, everywhere they went seemed to remind him of Angel. And only serve to remind him she wasn't there. Contrary to the wide smile he'd given Angel the second she walked through the doors again, he'd been just as frowning and glaring before then. It was like...a switch had flipped. He'd literally been glaring at the rotor, his hand turning white as it clenched a lever, when she'd gone to the kitchen to try and make him some calming tea, able to hear him actually threatening the TARDIS that if the box had gotten them there years later for Angel that he'd...well, he never got to finish because Angel had walked in and she'd heard the immediate cheer that sounded in the Doctor's voice and seen the wide smile and light that came to the Doctor's face when she'd entered the console room to see Angel was back, to see the Doctor himself was back as well.

It was like, now that Angel was there, he was just...balanced again.

She really, _really_ hoped Angel wouldn't _ever_ leave the TARDIS as long as she had _ever again_. They'd learned that, while it had only been a few days for them, it had been a little more than 2 weeks for her (and she truly couldn't imagine the Doctor making it that long without Angel). The Doctor had been completely stunned when she told him what happened, about some sort of Miracle and Blessing and some sort of Family deal thing. But she'd reassured him that it was human in nature and that it was all sorted, that she'd helped take care of it and that nothing like it would ever happen again as far as she could tell. He'd smiled and just...looked at her, saying Torchwood was lucky they had her, she was brilliant.

She didn't think she'd ever seen Angel smile so widely before.

"And now this," she continued, shaking herself out of her thoughts, " _I_ think it's suspicious."

"Well, it's not," he said, a bit too quickly, "There's nothing to be suspicious about."

"She was joking," Angel mumbled offhandedly before walking off, frowning as something across the room caught her eye.

"Why aren't you?" Amy eyed the Doctor curiously.

"Each of these pictures now is worth tens of millions of pounds," the tour guide spoke again, "Yet in his lifetime, he was a commercial disaster. Sold only one painting, and that to the sister of a friend. We have here possibly the greatest artist of all time, but when he died, you could sold his entire body of work and got about enough money to buy a sofa and a couple of chairs," his group laughed, "If you follow me now..."

"Who is it?" a little boy looked at his friend as they stood before the 'Portrait of Dr. Gachet.'

"It's the doctor!" the second boy cheered, drawing the Doctor's attention away, literally making him spin around as though HE had been called, "He was the doctor who took care of Van Gogh when he started to go mad."

"I knew that," the first boy nudged him.

"Angel's found it!" Amy shouted, grabbing the Doctor by the arm and pulling him towards Angel, who was standing in front of 'The Church at Auvers,' staring at it thoughtfully. Amy held up her guidebook to compare the two images, "Look! There it is, the actual one."

"Yes," the Doctor laughed lightly, nodding, "You can almost feel his hand painting it right in front of you. Carving the colors into shapes..."

"And creatures," Angel added.

"And creat…what?" the Doctor looked at her.

"What?" Amy repeated.

Angel blinked and looked at them, "That," she pointed to something in the painting.

"What?" Amy frowned, not seeing anything.

But the Doctor did, there was a small black creature painted into the corner window of the church, its face snarling, "Something very not good indeed."

"What thing very not good?"

"Right there Amy," Angel pointed again, tracing the creature more so Amy would realize it wasn't just a shadow, "In the church window."

"Is it a face?"

"Yes," the Doctor frowned, "And not a nice face at all. I know evil when I see it and I see it in that window."

"I don't know," Angel mumbled, unable to look away from the creature. Something about that world, 'evil,' just...didn't seem to fit with what she felt looking at the painting. She could be wrong, she _could_ be, but...her time with Torchwood had reminded her to trust herself, trusting herself and her feelings had helped save the world and the team, she wasn't going to doubt them now.

And her feelings were telling her that creature _wasn't_ evil.

"I think..." she began, but the Doctor had already spun around and made his way over to the tour guide without her noticing.

"It has changed hands for something in the region of 20..."

"Excuse me," the Doctor called, "If I can just interrupt for one second," he held up the psychic paper, "Sorry, everyone. Routine inspection, Dr. John Smith from the Ministry of Art and...Artiness, with my assistant," he gestured at the girls as they walked over, "Angela Jones. So, um..."

Amy blinked, not quite sure if she should feel offended that Angel had been listed as his assistant when SHE was his companion or relieved that she wouldn't have to pretend to know everything about art. Angel, though, blinked for an entirely different reason, that was the first time the Doctor had used her alias in relation to teaming up with him. He hadn't even done that when they'd gone to stop Nasreen. She smiled a little though, from what Amy had told her about the Doctor's behavior while she'd been at Torchwood...he'd missed her, and it seemed he was still recovering from that. It was nice to be missed.

She'd missed him too...in more ways than one.

"Dr. Black," Angel whispered to him, seeing the man's nametag.

"Yes, that's right," the man nodded.

"Right," the Doctor pointed at the painting, "Do you know when that picture of the church was painted?"

"Ah, what an interesting question. Most people..."

"I'm going to have to hurry you..."

"Being rude again," Angle murmured.

"When was it?"

"Exactly?" Dr. Black shook his head.

"As exactly as you can. Without a long speech, if poss., we're in a hurry."

"Well, in that case, probably somewhere between the 1st and 3rd of June."

"What year?"

"1890," Angel guessed.

Dr. Black nodded, "Less than a year before he killed himself."

"Thank you, sir," the Doctor grinned, "Very helpful indeed. Nice bowtie," he looked at Amy and Angel, "Bowties are cool."

"Yours is very..." Dr. Black tugged at the bowtie around his neck.

"Oh, thank you. Keep telling them stuff," he grabbed Amy's arm and pulled her through the exhibit, knowing Amy would leave the paintings till she was dragged out, Angel following, "We need to go."

"What about the other pictures?" Amy cried, proving his theory.

"Art can wait. This is life and death," he gave Amy a shove out the door.

"Doctor!"

"Amy," Angel nudged her on gently, "I think we're about to _meet_ Vincent Van Gogh, in person."

Amy stared at her a moment, "What are we waiting for?!" and grabbed the Doctor's arm, dragging _him_ along this time instead as Angel laughed and followed.

~8~

A cat was lying on the cobblestone alley but ran off as the TARDIS materialized where it had been laying, nearly right on top of it if not for its fast reflexes. The Doctor and Amy stepped out dressed in their typical attire while Angel stepped out in a plain, gray, high-necked, long-sleeved dress, her hair up in a high bun. They looked around...well, Amy looked around, the Doctor just shifted nervously, trying to _keep_ himself from glancing at Angel but failing miserably.

He didn't know what it was but...she looked...different in that dress. He normally didn't like the color, grey, it was so...depressing and not at all a color he associated with Angel (TARDIS blue being the first) but...it had tiny gold buttons and little other golden accents and, all together, it really... _really_ brought out her eyes, made them shine in the starlight, not that they didn't always shine. Not that he noticed when they shined or not.

No, of course not.

And it wasn't like he got angry when he realized they hadn't really started to shine till Rory started to travel with them.

Not at all.

Why would he be angry about that?

Now that he thought about it though, Angel's eyes had shined during their first trip as well, just after he'd regenerated, had shined the entire time...during that trip when they'd met Rory. And then the shine left them, for quite a while, till _Rory_ came back. It...bothered him, to know that her rather lovely silver eyes had shinned only because of her companion and not, well, _him_.

He shook his head at that, no, there was no reason to WANT her eyes to shine for him, was there?

None at all.

Nope.

Angel looked at him, hearing his thoughts, pleased to know he thought she looked nice, but slightly disheartened to know he was still being his oblivious self and pushing his thoughts away. It was almost like, every time he almost thought too much on her, something made him change his mind, his mind just...snapped him out of it. Perhaps if he'd kept on thinking and analyzing her 'shining eyes' he might have realized they'd shined the _entirety_ of their first adventure, _before_ and after meeting Rory, because of the Time Lord himself and not Rory. The shine had only left after they'd taken Amy into the console room that first time and only returned because, well, Rory made her happy.

Not as happy as the Doctor, no, no one would ever make her _that_ happy, but just...made her feel like she wasn't invisible.

She sighed, shaking _her_ head this time, not going to keep thinking on that, no, she'd promised herself. If he remembered, brilliant, if not...she'd have to accept it. She couldn't spend more time than she already had worrying about the Doctor and making herself sick thinking about him and his amnesia. She needed to watch out for herself, for the baby, now more than ever. She had to make sure they would both be ok.

Especially now that Rory was gone.

She turned and headed down the alley, leading them on, the Doctor glancing at the back of her dress, it had a tiny train and...no bustle...

~oOo~

_"Where's she going?" Jack called._

_"She's psychic!" Martha told him as they jogged on, "She must have sensed something with her ESP or seen something."_

_"You mean she's really psychic now?" Jack gaped, he knew she got tiny feelings from time to time, but Martha had said 'seen' just then._

_"Oh yeah," Martha laughed, "She can even really see the future."_

_"Huh," Jack blinked, "My sister can see the future," he smiled, "That's pretty badass...and speaking of...eyes front soldier!" Jack shouted at him, noticing his gaze hadn't quiet been on Angel's BACK as she ran ahead of them._

_"Stop it!" he yelled back at Jack, catching up to Angel as she led them along the canyon wall..._

~oOo~

The Doctor shook his head, his head snapping up off the area it had been lingering on, swearing he'd just heard Jack shouting in his head, before clearing his throat, "Right, so here's the plan. We find Vincent and he leads us straight to the church and our nasty friend."

"Easy peasy," Amy nodded.

"Well, no. I suspect nothing will be easy with Mr. Van Gogh. Now, he'll probably be in the local café, sort of orangey light, chairs and tables outside…"

Angel stopped at the end of the alley and looked over at the café a few feet away. She looked at Amy whose eyes widened before looking at her guidebook, 'The Café Terrance on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night,' come to life before them.

"Like this?" Amy asked, holding her guidebook up.

"That's the one."

"Or indeed like that?" Amy pointed at the café which looked _exactly_ like the painting.

"Yeah, exactly like that," he walked over to one of the help cleaning the tables before turning to a man who seemed to be in charge, "Good evening. Does the name Vincent Van Gogh ring a bell?"

" _Don't_ mention that man to me," he spat and walked back inside.

Angel frowned and looked over at one of the waitresses, "Excuse me, ma'am, sorry, but do you know Vincent Van Gogh?"

"Unfortunately," she muttered.

"Unfortunately?" Amy blinked, stunned that _anyone_ would think that unfortunate.

"He's drunk, he's mad, and he _never_ pays his bills."

"Good painter, though, eh?" the Doctor grinned.

The waitresses and the patrons burst into laughter which made the Doctor sit down at one of the tables, pouting. Angel gave a small smile and sat down beside him, patting his shoulder, about to pull her hand away...when he put his on top of hers, stopping her. She looked at him to see him looking at her hand, still on his shoulder, and squeezed it, moving to look at her, solemn, "I'm sorry," he told her quietly.

"For what?" she frowned.

"Rory," he explained, being even more quiet with Amy only a few feet away, trying to spot Vincent anywhere, "It happened because of me. And..." he sighed, "I understand why you wanted to get away from me and visit Jack and..."

"I didn't want to 'get away' from you," Angel cut in gently. Ok, yes, it had been a bit too much to handle at the time, but it was _everything_ , dealing with everything _on top_ of losing Rory, it wasn't _just_ him, and it certainly wasn't just what happened to Rory. She didn't...she didn't want him to think she _wanted_ to leave him. She just...she HAD to.

"But...you _left_ ," he whispered, sounding like a lost child.

"And then I came back," she reminded him.

He started to smile at that, "Yeah, you did. I'm glad you did," he added, looking at her softly, "Really glad...I..." he breathed out, "I missed you," he admitted, "Terribly."

She started to smile too, "I missed you too."

"Yeah?" he beamed.

She laughed at seeing his wide smile, "Of course."

"Good, good," he nodded, just...looking at her intently, opening his mouth to say something...

When a voice sounded from inside, "Come on! Come on! One painting for one drink. That's not a bad deal."

The owner came out of the café, holding a canvas, followed by a ginger man, who the trio all recognized to be Vincent Van Gogh. Amy and the Doctor reacted in quiet, though very giddy excitement while Angel just smiled sadly at the man, recalling the time in his life and how hard it was.

"It wouldn't be a bad deal if the painting were any good," the owner huffed, "I can't hang that up on my walls. It'd scare the customers half to death," he held up the painting beside the man, comparing them, "It's bad enough having you in here in person, let alone looming over the customers day and night in a stupid hat. You pay money or you get out."

"I'll pay if you like," the Doctor offered.

"What?" the owner looked at him.

"Well, if you like. I'll pay for the drink. Or I'll pay for the painting and you can use the money to pay for the drink."

"Exactly who _are_ you?" Vincent asked.

"I'm..."

"New," Angel finished for him.

"Well, in that case, you don't know three things," Vincent told the Doctor, "One, I pay for my own drinks, thank you," the patrons started laughing, making him roll his eyes, "Two, no one _ever_ buys any of my paintings or they would be laughed out of town, so if you want to stay in town, I suggest you keep your cash to yourself. And three, your friend's cute, but you should keep your big nose out of other people's business."

The Doctor tensed immediately at the mention of his friend, glancing right at Angel, stiff before his eyes started to narrow at Vincent...

"You meant her, right?" Angel nodded back where Amy was standing, Vincent nodding his agreement as the Doctor relaxed, frowning a bit in thought.

What had _that_ been about? It would be a compliment to Angel for Vincent Van Gogh to think her cute, so...why did it make him feel... _angry_...to hear her being complimented by the other man? He complimented Amy and girls all the time.

"Come on, just one more drink," Vincent looked at the owner again, "I'll pay tomorrow."

"No."

"Or, on the other hand, slightly more compassionately, yes?"

"Or, on the other hand, to protect my business from madmen, no."

"Or…"

"Oh, look, just shut up the pair of you!" Amy huffed, pushing her way between them, glancing at the owner, "I would like a bottle of wine, please, which I will then share with whomever," she gave Vincent a pointed look, "I choose."

"That could be good," Vincent nodded.

"That's good by me," the owner sighed.

"Good," Amy smiled and headed inside. The owner headed in afer her but stopped, shoving the painting into Vincent's arms before entering.

Angel smiled, seeing the paint was 'Self Portrait with Straw Hat,' before she started to get up, the two of them about to follow Amy and Vincent in.

"Angel," the Doctor called, making her pause as he stepped beside her, "I um, I don't think it's fair."

"What?" she shook her head.

He shrugged, shifting a bit, "You're...cute too."

Angel blinked and frowned as he turned and headed into the café after the humans. She honestly wasn't sure if he was just being nice in giving her a compliment since Vincent had Amy or if he really thought that, his mind was a jumble that had gone right to thoughts of the church and the creature as soon as he'd turned away from her. She wasn't sure if it was the second thought though, he'd sounded rather...hesitant...to say it in the first place.

Even for all her abilities, she would never know that he'd hesitated because 'cute' was _not_ the word his mind had wanted to use.

~8~

The Doctor and Amy were sitting across from Vincent and Angel as Vincent sipped his wine, looking at Amy, the Doctor with his arms crossed, pouting a bit. Angel was sitting next to Vincent. Of course, it was expected, when they'd reached Amy and the man, the two were at a 4 person table, two chairs on either side but each of them already in one chair on either side...so really there was no choice but to sit across from each other as well. That wasn't what bothered him. What bothered him was that...

Angel was sitting next to _Vincent_ , instead of next to Amy.

Which also made sense, Amy was HIS companion, so it would be expected he'd sit by her too but...

He hadn't seen Angel in _days_ and it...felt like longer, so much longer. It was like...he knew. He knew in everything he did, in everything he said, every way he turned, every place he looked, that Angel wasn't there. It was like he could feel it profoundly, her absence, the last few trips. Sure, they'd been separated before, during some adventures, but never for DAYS, mere hours at most. He hadn't been able to do it, he knew that Angel might not have been ready to come back with him to the TARDIS when he set down in the Plass, but...he'd been prepared to ramble out some awful excuse and tug her along and kidnap her if he had to. Anything to get her back into the box with him again.

He didn't know what it was, he'd never felt that extreme of an emotion before. That... _desperation_...to have her with him again. He'd worried about her, yes. Despite her visions, despite the Vortex, despite the entire Torchwood team...which he knew would look out for her with their lives...he'd worried. He'd tried to distract himself with an amusement park but it hadn't worked. It had gotten to the point where he couldn't stand it and _had_ to see for himself if she was ok.

And to have her back...he didn't want her away again.

Even the other side of the table was too far away...and Vincent was far too close.

"That accent of yours," the man in question looked at Amy, "You from Holland like me?"

"No," Amy and the Doctor both spoke but with two different answers, "Yes."

"She means yes," the Doctor continued, "So, start again. Hello, I'm the Doctor."

"I knew it!" Vincent cried, jerking back as the Doctor reached out to shake his hand.

"Sorry?"

"My brother's always sending doctors, but you won't be able to help."

Angel gave a small laugh, "Oh he's not that sort of doctor at all," she reassured Vincent as she turned to him and held out a hand, "I'm Angel, nice to meet you."

" _Pleased_ to meet you," he smiled back, shaking her hand before eyeing her a moment intently, his eyes roving over her face as though searching for something, his smile growing the longer he looked at her.

The Doctor laughed tensely, eyeing the two of them, before pointing at a painting at Vincent's side, the unfinished 'La Meridienne,' "That's incredible, don't you think, Amy?"

"Absolutely," Amy nodded, "One of my favorites."

"One of my favorite whats?" Vincent frowned, the Doctor letting out a breath as he pulled his gaze away from Angel and to Amy, letting go of Angel's hand as well, "You've never seen my work before."

"Ah, yes. One of my favorite paintings that I've ever seen. Generally."

"Then you can't have seen many paintings, then. I know it's terrible."

"Oh I don't think so," Angel shook her head, linking her arm through Vincent's in comfort, "I think it's rather lovely."

"It's the best I could do," Vincent tucked her hand into his arm, patting it with his other hand, not seeming to notice the Doctor's jaw tense even as he turned his attention back to Amy, "Your hair is orange."

Amy leaned in, "Yes. So's yours."

"Yes. It was more orange, but now is, of course, less."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, feeling a stirring of irritation rise in him, and cut in, "So, Vincent, painted any churches recently? Any churchy plans? Are churches, chapels, religiousy stuff like that, something you'd like to get into? You know, fairly _soon_?"

"Well, there _is_ one church I'm thinking of painting when the weather is right…"

"That is very good news," the Doctor grinned but Angel stiffened.

"Are you alright?" Vincent turned to Angel, able to feel it as he was sitting right beside her, ignoring the Doctor.

Before she could answer a woman ran into the room, shouting, "She's been murdered! Help me!"

"That, on the other hand, isn't quite such good news," the Doctor leapt up, "Come on, Angel, Amy, Vincent!"

Amy and the Doctor headed for the door, Angel waiting for Vincent to down his wine before following. They ran out into an alleyway to see a body of a young woman lying on the cobblestone, a group of locals already there, "She's been ripped to shreds!" a man gasped.

"Please, let me look," the Doctor made his way through the gathering, "I'm a doctor."

"Who is it?" another woman tried to look.

"Oh, no, no, no," the Doctor breathed as he and Vincent knelt beside the body, Angel and Amy standing behind them.

"Is she dead?" another man frowned.

A woman shoved her way through the crowd, "Away, all of you vultures! This is my daughter!" she dropped to her daughter's side and caressed her face, "Giselle. What monster could have done this?" she pushed the Doctor away, "Get away from her!"

The Doctor and Vincent both stood quickly and backed away, "Ok, ok."

"Get that madman out of here!" the mother yelled, throwing a rock at Vincent. Angel winced as the crowd started to throw stones, knowing she couldn't use the Vortex to create a wall lest they end up being chased down for witchcraft or something like that. They ran away from the crowd instead as they threw their rocks, blaming Vincent for the attack.

"You bring this on us!' the mother screamed, "Your madness! You! He's to blame!"

They turned around a corner, stopping to catch their breath, "Are you ok Vincent?" Angel looked at Vincent, "Did you get hit?"

"I'm used to it," Vincent waved her off, "I'm alright."

"No, you're not," she stepped over to him, touching his head lightly, seeing a rather nasty scrape, "You've been hit, you're bleeding."

"Has anything like this murder happened here before?" the Doctor inquired as Angel checked the cut.

"Only a week ago," he nodded, "It's a terrible time."

"As I thought, as I thought."

"Come on," Angel reached out and linked her arm with Vincent's, lightly steadying him, "We'd better get you back to your home so I can properly clean that."

"Where are you staying tonight?" Vincent looked at them.

The Doctor patted him on the shoulder, "Oh, you're very kind," and walked off down the alley.

Amy giggled nervously before following.

Vincent looked at Angel, puzzled, "Is he always like that?"

She sighed, "Yes. Yes he is. Sorry."

~8~

Vincent walked before the trio, down this street and that, past quite a few buildings while the Doctor looked up at the sky, "Dark night, very starry," he murmured.

"It's not much," Vincent sighed, coming up to his house, "I live on my own. But you should be ok for one night. ONE night."

"We're going to stay with him?" Amy whispered to the Doctor.

"Until he paints that church," he agreed.

Vincent lit a lamp and removed his hat, hanging it on a hook as he pushed the door open, "Watch out. That one's wet."

"What?" Amy looked over to see the painting 'Bedroom in Arles' drying behind her while the Doctor and Angel walked into the house.

Vincent lit another lamp, to reveal his cottage _filled_ with paintings in various stages of being worked on, "Sorry about all the clutter."

"Some clutter," the Doctor mumbled.

"I've come to accept the only person who's going to love my paintings is me."

" _I_ love them," Angel smiled at him, squeezing his arm, "You can tell, just looking at them, that you loved making them. That alone makes them worth loving."

Vincent smiled at that, truly touched at how she viewed his paintings, if only more people could see it that way, "Thank you."

"Wow," Amy gaped, entering, catching sight of the other paintings, "I mean, really. _Wow_."

The Doctor looked over, examining some of the paintings like 'Blossoming Almond Tree,' 'Prisoners Exercising (after Dore)' and 'Wheat Field with Cypresses' while Angel went to look for some bandages or cloth and cleaning supplies.

"Yeah, I know it's a mess," Vincent made his way into a small kitchen area, "I'll have a proper clear out. I must, I really must," Amy walked over to 'La Berceuse,' "Coffee, anyone?"

"Not for me, actually," the Doctor called.

"Nor me," Angel added, finding a bit of clean cloth and a cup to fill with water, "When you've gotten your cup Vincent, please sit down so I can clean your cut yeah?"

Vincent nodded and put his coffee pot down on 'Still Life: Basket with Six Oranges' just as the Doctor popped his head into the room, "You know, you should be careful with these," the Doctor called, "They're...precious."

Vincent just wiped the coffee ring that appeared off with his hand and plopped down in a chair, sipping his coffee while Angel worked on cleaning the scrape gently, "Precious to me. Not precious to anyone else."

"They're precious to me!" Amy shouted before joining them all in the main room.

"Well, you're very kind," Vincent said before looking at Angel, putting a hand on her wrist as she cleaned his head to still her a moment, smiling at her, "The both of you. And kindness is most welcome."

"Right, so, this church, then," the Doctor cut in, drawing Vincent's attention away more with the slight edge in his voice than the suddenness of his almost-shout. He just _couldn't_ understand it, _every_ time the man so much as _looked_ at Angel one way he wanted to pull her away from him, "Near here, is it?"

"All done," Angel smiled, dabbing the wound once more, a soft golden glow around it that only the Doctor noticed, the man giving a soft smile at that, as the small cut healed, "Looked worse than it was," she told Vincent so he wouldn't suspect anything, "Just a scratch really."

"Thank you," he smiled at her once more before getting up to put wood on the fire. He looked back at the Doctor, "What is it with you and the church?"

"Oh, just casually interested in it, you know," the Doctor offered.

"Far from casual. Seems to me. you never talk about anything else. He's a strange one."

"Oh, we know," Amy laughed.

"Ok, so let's talk about you," the Doctor said, "What are _you_ interested in?"

"Look around," Vincent gestured, "Art. It seems to me there's so much more to the world than the average eye is allowed to see," Amy looked over at 'Starry Night,' "I believe, if you look hard, there are more wonders in this Universe than you could ever have dreamed of."

"I _completely_ agree," Angel smiled softly at him, making him beam back...the Doctor starting to shift uncomfortably as he eyed them.

~8~

The Doctor was rather stiff as he sat in a chair near the fire as Vincent explained his love of art, almost manically, "It's color. Color that holds the key. I can hear the colors. Listen to them. Every time I step outside, I feel nature is shouting at me. 'Come on. Come and get me. Come on. Come on!" he gripped the Doctor by the lapels, "Capture my mystery!'"

"Maybe you've had enough coffee now," the Doctor remarked, tense, a bit...worried as well, the man was clearly very...excitable at the moment, and not quite...with it, which worried him for Angel and Amy, but, one glance at Angel told him she wasn't even watching the man, just...looking through the fire, distant, "How about some nice calming tea? Let's get you a cup of chamomile or something, shall we?"

"Amy?" Angel breathed. They looked over at her as she blinked, her eyes widening, gasping, "Amy!" before she jumped up and ran outside...

Just as Amy screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww, did you like that little bit of jealous Doctor? ;) Plenty more of him to come too ;) The time away from Angel did wonders to his head didn't it? ^-^ Angel got a little back on her feet and the Doctor just went completely mad without her there, awwww :) And OMG! He actually seemed to remember a bit of the memory-flash this time! I think it might actually be an effect of being without Angel that he's been so focused on her that the memory-flashes of her are slipping through more than before :) I don't think they every specified in the show what Arcadia was, I know the Doctor was there during 'the Fall of Arcadia' with the Daleks, but I assume there are quite a few Arcadias out there so I made it an amusement park :)
> 
> All I can say is...next chapter, we'll learn something about Angel that might...shock you :(


	34. Vincent and the Angel: Empathy

"No!" the Doctor jumped up as well, racing out after Angel, his mind telling him he was worried because Amy had screamed and that might mean danger...his hearts painfully thumping in the protest that he was more worried because _Angel_ had just run off towards a scream and might be in danger. He shook his head, letting out a breath of relief when he and Vincent ran outside to see Angel fine, kneeling beside Amy as the ginger girl gasped for breath, sitting on the ground.

"What happened?" Angel asked her, her hand on Amy's back as she looked around, tense, her other hand lightly resting on her own stomach, unable to help but feel like...she was being watched. Like there was something else there that she just couldn't see.

"I was having a look at the paintings out here when something hit me from behind," Amy panted.

"It's ok," the Doctor reassured her, "He's gone now and we're here."

Angel felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise up and stiffened, "I'm not quite sure it's gone..." she whispered.

Vincent looked around, feeling the same, and raised his hands in fright, his eyes wide as he saw something, "No!" he moved back, crying out.

"Take it easy," the Doctor called to him, trying to calm him down as the man grew even more frantic and jerky, "Take it easy!"

"What's happening?" Amy looked over, concerned, "What's he doing?"

Vincent had grabbed a large wooden stick, shaped like a 2-pronged fork, and held it out in front of him like a weapon...aimed right at them.

"I don't know," the Doctor shook his head when, with a shout, Vincent ran at them, "Oh, dear," he moved to push the girls to the side...when Vincent ran _past_ them, making them frown, the Doctor and Amy in confusion while Angel just squinted, sensing something else was there but she just...it was invisible, it had to be.

But she knew it was there.

"Run!" Vincent shouted, once he'd made it past them, putting himself between them and whatever it was only he could see, "Run!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's not a bad idea. Amy, Angel get back. He's having some kind of fit. I'll try to calm him down."

"I don't think it's a fit..." Angle shook her head as she helped Amy up, "We need to help him and..."

"I know," the Doctor turned to her, serious all of a sudden, "I will, _I_ will. But I need you two safe," he told her, not wanting them to get hurt by Vincent if it turned out the man really _was_ having some sort of episode. Not that he doubted Angel, not at all but...he couldn't risk her, and Amy, getting hurt, " _Please_."

She bit her lip, before nodding, leading Amy over to the doorway, not being able to see what was attacking them or why...she had to be carefuly, if...if she got hit in the stomach...she didn't even want to think about what that could mean. So she led Amy back, the two of them watching from behind a few paintings as Vincent lashed out at something. She frowned, trying to sense whatever it was that might be out there. Clearly Vincent was attacking _something_ , he was looking in only one spot and swinging the stick around as though trying to fend something off. Not really attacking.

"Easy, Vincent, easy," the Doctor walked in front of him, which made Angel shake her head, he really _was_ oblivious wasn't he? And while that was usually adorable (and quite heartbreaking) at times, now was _not_ one of them, "Look, look. It's me, it's me, it's me," he held his hands out, "It's the Doctor, look. No one else is here. So, Vincent..."

"Look out!" Vincent pointed behind the Doctor as something slammed into the Time Lord, throwing him to the ground.

Something that sounded rather large roared and shredded one of the paintings in front of the girls, making three big claw marks through the canvas.

"I can't see anything!" Amy shouted, now realizing what Angel had, there really WAS something else out there, "What is it?"

Vincent though, apparently _could_ see it and tried to fight it off, tried to press it back from the Doctor.

"That is a good question," the Doctor stood up and grabbed a stick of his own, rushing to join Vincent, "Let me help you."

"You can see him, too?" Vincent looked over...only to see the Doctor run to a completely different area of the yard and wave the stick around.

"Yes!" he called, "…ish. Well, no. Not really," he paused in his swinging, wondering just how helpful that might be for him to try and attack something he couldn't see...when the thing he couldn't see roared again and threw him back over a table that he rolled across, dropping at Vincent's feet.

"Doctor!" Angel gasped, running to his side, her hearts racing at seeing him get thrown about like that. Being knocked on his bum was one thing, but that had truly hurt, he'd flown through the air and hit a table!

"You couldn't see him?" Vincent looked down at the man.

"No. Oi!" the Doctor pointed a warning finger at the painter as Angel helped him up, he gave her a wink in thanks before he ran back to where he'd been and started batting the stick around with a shout while Vincent turned to where the beast _actually_ was.

"No idea what he's doing, has he?" Amy whispered to Angel as she backed up to her again.

"Never does," Angel sighed, before pulling her gaze away from the Doctor and over to Vincent, gasping, "Vincent no!" she ran back out as Vincent seemingly hurt the creature, which let out a pained whimper and retreated from the yard, knocking over a few things as it ran.

Amy stepped cautiously out of her hiding spot and over to Angel and Vincent's side, the three of them looking over to see the Doctor _still_ trying to fight it off.

"He's gone," Vincent called after a moment.

"Oh, right," the Doctor turned around, throwing the stick down, grinning as though he knew that, "Yes, of course."

~8~

"Right," the Doctor sat in the cottage that night, trying to work out what the creature was, if he knew what it was, for clearly it was an alien, he'd be able to tell how to stop it or subdue it and then try to help it, "So he's invisible? What did he look like?"

"I'll show you," Vincent picked up one of his paintings of irises and brushed thick white strokes over it.

"Oh, no, no, no!" the Doctor shouted as Amy gasped.

"What?"

"That was a _beautiful_ painting Vincent," Angel told him, looking at it sadly.

"You liked _that_?" he scoffed.

Angel walked over to him and took the canvas, staring at what was now a white sheet, "I _loved_ it," she told him, looking up at him, feeling familiarity.

The man truly couldn't see just how remarkable he was, how talented, how amazing, just because of how the villagers and others classified his work. It had to be hard to dedicate your life to something you loved and have others belittle it. In a way...Vincent reminded her very much of Mickey and Rory, they were all the most wonderful men, but just...didn't believe in themselves. But that was alright, she believed in them and she swore she'd get them to believe in themselves too. She didn't know if it was being psychic or intuitive or whatever the Doctor loved to call it but...she could always see more to the men in her life than they could. She saw what they didn't, she saw the strength within, the possibilities yet to come, the men they could be. And that was beautiful.

"You should trust yourself more," she told him gently, handing him back the painting, "You claim to love your art but...how can you expect others to treasure it if _you_ don't?"

Vincent looked down at the blank canvas, blinking, a bit...startled she'd said that. He loved art, he loved it _so much_ , it was his entire life...but she was right. He'd just taken a painting he'd worked so hard on, spent hours, days even, getting just right...and destroyed it. He'd just erased his own work, like he knew the villagers wished they could do. And there were times...more and more it seemed...where he almost thought they were right...that he was worth as much as his paintings, nothing.

"But the good thing about a blank canvas," Angel put her hand on his, making him look at her, "You can start again, make it better than before," she smiled, leaning in to whisper, "Don't let them win."

Vincent swallowed, not sure how she'd known what he'd been thinking, feeling, about his paintings. And she was right, if he kept doing this, treating his paintings like they were just paint on a canvas...they'd have won in making him think his paintings were nothing, when they were _everything_ to him.

Angel squeezed his hand, "Go on," she encouraged, moving over to an armchair and sitting down. Amy smiled, seeing Vincent get right to work, sketching quickly and roughly with charcoal, and glanced at the Doctor...to see him staring at Angel, again. It wasn't all that odd, he'd been staring at her since they'd picked her up again, but...there was something...else...in the look. It was soft, it was a soft look, mixed with impression and awe and...something else. There was a gentle look in his eyes, but also...a disbelieving look, like...he wasn't sure Angel was real. Like he couldn't believe she was real.

She blinked though when he looked away suddenly as Angel glanced over, smirking a bit to herself when she saw a very faint blush start to creep up his neck though the Time Lady didn't seem to notice. It made her suspicious and a little confused as well. The Doctor claimed with every fiber of his being that there was _nothing_ between him and Angel, that they were friends, the last of their kind, just good mates...though she didn't understand why he kept wincing at that word, it was weird. But then again, _he_ was weird. Bowtie. Anyway, he claimed there was nothing but...she wasn't so sure.

There had been signs, loads of them really, she _should_ have seen them, well...she DID see them, but she'd ignored them for quite a while. She didn't know why but she'd started to notice them just after they'd stopped the vampires in Venice. It was like she'd just...come away from that adventure different, more aware, with a different outlook on the Doctor. Seeing those aliens, hearing the Doctor tell them how the Signora had offered him a partnership of 'that' sort, how he'd refused (muttering something about cross-species breeding being impossible or something, ew), she'd just...the next thing she knew she was looking at him differently. She'd been attracted to him, yeah, dreamed about running away with him for ages, but...she'd just...didn't feel that anymore. Maybe it was finding out that cross-species thing, maybe it had reminded her too much that they really WERE different species, but whatever it was...she just...he was a friend now, and that was all, and that was better.

And now she could see it, all those little signs that had been there since she'd first met them. The way the Doctor acted around Angel when she was in danger, when they were separated, when she was dressed up. She'd noticed him sneak little glance at Angel in her period clothes. And she'd seen it just before, the little narrow-eyed looks at Vincent, how he kept cutting into the man talking to Angel, how he watched her...if he wasn't jealous, she wasn't ginger. It seemed the Time Lord might have a little crush on Angel but...that DID make her wonder though, River Song...if she was the Doctor's wife...how? Could Time Lords marry humans and be with them but it would just mean they had no children? Or was River a secret Time Lady? No, she doubted that, the Doctor and especially Angel would notice _that_. And, if River was his wife...what did that mean for Angel?

Her eyes widened, maybe THAT was it! Maybe THAT was why River was a bit snippy with Angel! How would any woman feel to have their husband travel the stars with another woman? But...SHE travelled with the Doctor too, why wasn't River cross with _her_? What about all the other women who he'd travelled with? Hmmm...maybe it had to do with Angel being a Time Lady, being the only person the Doctor could be with if he wanted a child. She didn't know, but whatever it was...she could tell the Doctor was in for one complicated life.

Vincent smiled, finishing the image of a bird-like creature with reptilian skin, "Ok," the Doctor nodded as Vincent handed over the sketch, Amy and Angel moving beside him to look at it.

Angel frowned, eyeing it...

'... _sometimes one of them gets left behind and because they are a brutal race, the others never come back_...'

... _the creature appeared in the corner of a mirror_...

'... _it's like it's trapped. It's moving round the edges of the room_...'

"Ok," the Doctor nodded, "Right. Amy, make Mr. Van Gogh comfortable. Don't let any invisible monsters in through the front door."

"But it could be outside, waiting," Amy said, working out that he was leaving, or that he and Angel were leaving as he hadn't told Angel to keep an eye on the man too. Well, it was either that or he'd forgotten Angel, but she REALLY doubted it was the second option, not after how he'd reacted while she'd been at Torchwood.

"Don't worry, I'll risk it. What's the worst that can happen?"

"You could get torn into pieces by a monster you can't see."

"I'll go with him," Angel stood up, "I should be able to sense it well enough to get us away from it in time."

Amy nodded, that had been her thought as well as to why the Doctor hadn't included her. To be honest...even if Angel had been completely ordinary, no psychic abilities at all, she was sure the Doctor would STILL take the Time Lady with him. He didn't seem fond of her being around Vincent, he would want to take her with him and not leave her wtih the man wouldn't he.

"See!" the Doctor grinned, "My good luck charm!" Amy frowned, seeing Angel wince just slightly at that, "Don't worry. I'll be back before you can say, 'Where's he got to now?'" and then the turned and left with Angel.

Amy had _just_ turned back to face Vincent when the Doctor popped back in, "Not that fast!" making her jump, "But pretty fast. See you around," he laughed, leaving again.

He and Angel stepped out of the cottage, hearing soft growling noises before walking off quickly, Angel taking the lead and leading him down the alleys, right back to the TARDIS. They walked cautiously towards it, Angel glancing over her shoulder for a moment before picking up a bit of speed. The Doctor unlocked the box and stepped inside, Angel shutting the door behind them as the Doctor ran over to a chest in the back alcove and began throwing things away to move it.

"Right," he mumbled as he sifted through it, "You in here somewhere? I can't apologize enough. I thought you were just a useless gadget. I thought you were just an embarrassing present from a dull godmother with two heads and bad breath. Twice," he pulled out a device that looked like a mirror on a harness, "How wrong can a man be?" and then he looked at Angel, "Don't answer that."

She laughed as he set it up on the console, hooking it up to the TARDIS for power. He looked at it a moment before pulling a confused Angel in front of him as the device dinged. He grinned and ran to the side where the TARDIS was printing out pictures of her in order of incarnation, naming her species and planet of origin, "So that's what you looked like before," he murmured, eyeing the faces that appeared, all 11 of them.

"Does that mean it's working?" Angel asked, walking over to look at her past.

But the Doctor was quiet, just... _staring_...

"Doctor?" Angel frowned, but he just _kept_ staring, "Doctor?" and staring, "Doctor!" she nudged him.

"What?" he looked at her, blinking a bit, before shaking his head, "Right, yes, sorry," he glanced back at the sketches, he didn't know why but...something about holding the images of all her past faces just...struck something in him, they were...he didn't know what. Seeing her, all the other hers...it was... _she_ was lovely. He shook his head again, this was not the time, and grabbed the sketch of Vincent's, "Now, see what you make of this," he held it up to the machine, "Who is that?"

"A parrot?" Angel frowned, glancing between the picture it displayed and the sketch.

"No, I know it's not that. There are thousands of them and you can see them plain as day..."

"I don't think it's a polar bear either," Angel remarked when a second image came up.

"No. Definitely not. This is the problem with the impressionists, not accurate enough. This would never happen with Gainsborough or one of those proper painters. Sorry, Vincent," he threw the sketch over his head, "You'll just have to draw something better."

~8~

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS in the daylight, not wanting to risk sneaking back to Vincent's in the dark, wearing the device, fixing it to his chest, while Angel shut the door...and froze, sensing the creature nearby. The Doctor aimed the mirror over his shoulder, not noticing it appear in the corner, "That's better," he grinned as the device beeped, "Time delay, but you always get it right in the end. Good. Let's find out who this is, then," the device displayed the results and Angel quickly looked over at them.

"Oh you poor thing," she breathed, her hearts breaking at the information of its species.

"You brutal, murderous, abandoned thing," the Doctor corrected, "I hope we meet again soon so I can take you home," Angel's eyes widened as the creature appeared in the mirror, "Maybe not that soon."

Angel grabbed his hand and led him through the alley, the Doctor knocking over tables and other items to slow it down as they ran, his hand on the small of her back to keep her ahead of him, him between her and the creature. She pulled him around a corner, both of them breathing heavily as they listened. The creature growled before giving up the chase and walking off.

The Doctor rested against the wall before moving to step away...only to notice that...his arm was wrapped rather tightly around Angel's waist, holding her pressed to him, her hands on his chest as they panted. He swallowed hard, fighting a shiver as he felt her warm breath tickle his neck, his entire body thrumming with a mixture of what he'd have to say was excitement, warmth, and delight, his hearts racing as he felt like he was about to lose his breath.

"I think he's gone," Angel whispered.

"Y-yes," he stuttered, trying to keep his voice from shaking at the feelings racing through him, feelings which concerned and confused him, he cleared his throat, "I think so too," he shifted, stepping back as he let go of Angel, that wasn't right, not at all, he just...he missed her, yes, that was it. The few days without her, he just... _missed_ her, this was his mind's way of telling him that, that he was happy to have her back. That was it.

Wasn't it?

He shook his head and turned around the corner, only to see Amy standing there, making him jump back, "Never do that!" he shouted, "You scared the living daylights out of me."

Angel just laughed, she had a feeling that was going to happen.

"Sorry," Amy put a hand to her own chest, just as startled, "I got bored. As much as you admire his command of color and shape, it is hard to get fond of Vincent Van Gogh's snoring."

~8~

Vincent's bedroom was _exactly_ like his painting, but with him in the bed, snoring away when the Doctor entered, "Wakey, wakey. Rise and shine! Breakfast is served in the courtyard!" he threw open a window, letting sunlight in, startling Vincent, "Whoa! What a morning," he clapped, "Come on," Vincent grudgingly got up, "And Amy's got a little surprise for you."

Vincent stumbled over to the window to see Amy sitting at a table below, sunflowers surrounding her, "I thought I'd brighten things up to thank you for saving me last night," she told him.

"Ah!" he nodded.

"I thought you might like, you know, possibly to perhaps paint them or something?" she glanced at the sunflowers as Angel and the Doctor joined her at the table with food, "Might be a thought."

"Yes. They're not my favorite flower."

"YOU don't like sunflowers?"

"No, it's not that I don't _like_ them. I find them complex. Always somewhere between living and dying," he touched one of the flowers by his window, "Half-human as they turn to the sun. A little disgusting. But, you know, they _are_ a challenge."

"One I think you'll definitely master," Angel smiled.

"But, moving on, there's something I need to show you," the Doctor added.

~8~

Vincent sat down, looking at the printout of the creature the Doctor had given him, "That's him. And the eyes. Without mercy."

Angel frowned at that, she hadn't seen the actual creature, but...the printout...that wasn't the impression she'd gotten from its eyes.

"This is a creature called the Krafayis," the Doctor told him, "They travel in space, they travel as a pack. Scavenging across the Universe. Sometimes one of them gets left behind and because they are a brutal race, the others never come back. So, dotted all around the Universe are individual, utterly merciless, utterly abandoned Krafayis. And what they do is...well, kill, until they're killed. Which they usually aren't. Because other creatures can't see them."

"But _I_ can."

"Yes. And that's why we are in a unique position today, my friend, to end this reign of terror. So, feeling like painting the church today?"

"What about the monster?"

"Take my word for it. If you paint it, he will come."

"Ok," Vincent got up, "I'll get my things."

"When _you're_ ready," Angel called, sensing a shift in him.

"I promise you," the Doctor said, "We'll be out of your hair by this time tomorrow," Vincent hesitated in the doorway and looked at Amy before going on, the Doctor sighing, "This is risky."

"Riskier than normal?" Amy frowned.

The Doctor stood and checked if Vincent could hear, "Well, think about it. This is the middle of Vincent Van Gogh's greatest year of painting. If we're not careful, the result of our trip could be the brutal murder of the greatest artist who ever lived. Half the pictures on the wall of the Musee D'Orsay will disappear," he sighed and sat down in between Amy and Angel on the sofa, "And it will be our fault."

~8~

The Doctor knocked softly on the door to Vincent's bedroom, "Vincent? Vincent!" he checked his watch before opening the door to see Vincent lying on his bed, crying, face down, "Vincent, can I help?"

"It's so clear you _cannot_ help," Vincent said as the Doctor came to crouch by the bed, "And when you leave, and everyone _always_ leaves, I will be left once more with an empty heart and no hope," he rolled over to look at the Doctor.

"My experience and, well, Angel really, have proved to me that there is, you know, surprisingly, _always_ hope."

"Then your experience is incomplete. I know how it will end, and it will not end well."

"Come on," he playfully slapped Vincent's back, trying to cheer him up, "Come out, let's go outside."

"Out! You get out!" he lashed out at him, "What are you doing here? What are you doing here?!"

"Very well," the Doctor backed out towards the door, "I'll leave. I'll leave you."

He shut the door behind him as Vincent curled into a fetal position and sobbed, looking over as Amy and Angel walked up the stairs, Angel with a sad, knowing look in her eye.

"What's happening?" Amy asked.

"We're leaving. Everyone knows he's a delicate man. Just months from now he'll...he'll take his own life," he pushed away from the door.

"Don't say that. Please…" but, without a word, the Doctor went down the stairs.

Angel watched as Amy ran off after him, pleading with him to try and change history. She paused a moment, biting her lip, turning to look at the door to Vincent's room before glancing down the stairs once more. She sighed and walked into the room, wincing at the sound of Vincent's strangled cries.

She walked over to the bed, sitting down on the chair beside it. The creaking made Vincent turn, his eyes red with tears as he glared at her, "What are you doing here!?" she just looked at him, "Get out!"

She hesitated a moment before speaking, "It feels like something's trying to tear your heart apart from the inside out," she said quietly. He rolled over onto his side, facing the wall, his back to her, ignoring her, "Like it's trying to take you over, blot out all the joy and good in life. And it...it _hurts_ ," her voice broke and he tensed, listening now, hearing something _more_ in her words, "And you can't help but feel like it'll never get better, it'll continue on forever...and you can't bear that," she blinked, "And then you feel disgusted with yourself for feeling that way and you fight, as _hard_ as you can, to rise above, to escape…" she smiled sadly, "And you succeed, and you're able to laugh and smile again and appreciate the joys of life," but it slowly fell, "But you know, in the back of your mind, that it won't last. It never does. That the pain and the hurt and the darkness is waiting for you. You know that the good days are growing fewer and more far between than before, that the bad days are lasting longer, that the pain just keeps increasing tenfold every time it happens. And you know, one day, you won't be able to fight your way out, one day the pain will be so great that you just...can't...anymore," she swallowed hard.

He rolled over, looking up at her with wide eyes, "You…"

She nodded, not needing him to speak more to understand, "I won't lie to you Vincent," she told him solemnly, "I won't lie and say the day is coming where the pain will go away," he nodded, expecting that, "Because it never will, will it?" she let out a sad laugh and looked down. No matter what she felt, no matter how good seeing her family again had been, how much better they'd made her feel...

The pain was still there, buried and hidden for the moment, dulled.

But it still hurt.

And it still got worse every time she felt it trying to break through.

He eyed her, seeing a kindred pain in her, not as violent as his, but just as trying to bear, "What can we do?" he asked hopelessly.

She looked up at him, moving off the chair to kneel at the side of his bed, "There are only two things. The first is that, when the good days come, live them as _completely_ as you can, enjoy every single moment of it," she was doing it now. She knew, she knew that this trip...it was one of the good ones, one where she could spend time with the Doctor and Amy, help people, use her abilities to help.

But she also knew, it wouldn't last. River Song would always be waiting in the future, waiting to pop up and intrigue the Doctor, show to everyone how much better, how much more well equipped, how better suited she was for the Doctor than her.

And those days, those trips...those were the bad ones, those were the ones that killed her.

"And the second," she took a breath, but that was not right now, "When the bad days come, find someone who will hold your hand through it," she reached out and took his hand in hers, "Even if it doesn't help at all."

He blinked, his eyes full of tears, the pain receding just for the moment, "You truly are an angel, aren't you?" he whispered, a hint of awe filling his eyes and voice, "To bear your pain so silently and still manage words of comfort and strength and a smile to others."

"If only I were," she whispered back, her other hand lightly moving to brush his hair a moment, "I would take both our pains away."

He nodded to himself at how selfless she was. Here was a woman, suffering in silent agony, forcing herself to be strong, for him, and here he was, curled up in his bed while a monster only _he_ could see was roaming free. He sniffled, taking a breath and nodding his head before getting up.

~8~

The Doctor took one last look at the paintings in the cottage before sighing, "Come on. We have to do this on our own. Go to the church at the right time and hope the monster still turns up."

Just then Vincent appeared in the doorway, coat and hat on, Angel just slightly behind him and to the side, "I'm ready. Let's go," he picked up his brush.

~8~

Amy walked beside Vincent, her arm tucked in his, as he carried his easel and palette in his hand. In her other hand Amy had his paint case and canvas, the Doctor and Angel walking on behind them, "I'm sorry you're so sad," Amy told him gently.

"But I'm not," Vincent gave her a wide grin, "Sometimes these moods torture me for weeks, for months. But I'm good now. If Amy Pond and Angel can soldier on, then so can Vincent Van Gogh."

"I'm not soldiering on. I'm fine."

"Oh, Amy, I hear the song of your sadness. You've lost someone I think," he glanced back at Angel, "You both have."

The Doctor looked at Angel sadly, understanding how she felt about losing the man she loved, that man on Gallifrey. While he could never admit that he loved his wife on Gallifrey, their marriage having been one of the unlucky arranged ones where they were lucky to find themselves civil with one another, he _did_ miss her in his own way and their children.

"I'm not sad," Amy continued.

"They why are you crying?" Amy put a hand to her cheek and wiped away a tear, surprised as she hadn't even noticed, "It's alright. I understand."

"I'm not sure _I_ do."

The Doctor looked over at Angel to see her smiling at Amy, "What is it?" he asked her quietly.

"Maybe she's remembering Rory," she breathed, hopeful.

The Doctor shook his head, "That's impossible."

"It's not impossible," Angel countered, "Just a bit unlikely."

The Doctor frowned suddenly, an image of Jenny appearing in his mind, calling out 'mum' at Angel before the woman passed out. He shook his head, blinking quickly, "Ok," he called out, "Ok! So, now, we must have a plan. When the creature returns..."

Vincent stopped and turned to him, "Then we shall fight him again."

"Well, yes, tick. But last night we were lucky. Amy could have been killed. So this time, for a start, we have to make sure I can see him, too."

"And how are we meant to do that, suddenly?" Amy frowned.

"The answer's in this box," he tapped the case he was carrying, "I had an excellent, if smelly, godmother."

"The poor girl," Angel whispered. They looked at her to see her watching the funerary procession for the girl that had been murdered walking past them, sunflowers resting on the coffin.

"Oh," Vincent took his hat off, "It's that poor girl from the village."

"You _do_ have a plan, don't you?" Amy looked at the Doctor as the procession passed.

"No," he started walking again, "It's a thing, it's like a plan, but with more greatness."

"Which will undeniably get us into far more trouble than going in with an actual plan," Angel remarked with a sigh.

Amy rolled her eyes, "Doctor!" she trekked after him, "What's the 'thing' then?"

Angel and Vincent shook their heads before following after the other two, "I understand how you feel about sunflowers," Angel murmured.

"Do you?" he looked at her.

"I have a garden," she smiled, "A little thing, with flowers from...all over...it was planted in death."

"What do you mean?" he frowned.

"I nearly died, a long time ago, I _was_ dying, really very ill," she sighed, "I wanted a garden, something full of life that I could begin, that..." she glanced at the Doctor, Vincent catching the move, brief though it was, "That someone else could continue when I had gone. To remind them I was there, even when I had died. I got better, obviously, but...it's still there. Oh you should see it Vincent, all those flowers, every color, every kind of plant...but no sunflowers actually," she shrugged, "I thought they were a bit...too bright, hurt my eyes back then I suppose."

Vincent let out a little chuckle, "Ironic isn't it?"

She glanced at him, "What is?"

"I can see the colors of the world Angel," he smiled at her, "Nothing I have _ever_ seen, shines more brightly than you," he reached out and took her hand, squeezing it, "You blind me."

She slowly started to smile at that, not seeing the Doctor glancing back at her, frowning and looking at their held hands.

~8~

Vincent set up his easel and sat down to paint the church as the Doctor bent over, putting his hands on Vincent's shoulders, "And you'll be sure to tell me if you see any, you know, monsters?"

" _Creatures_ ," Angel corrected, the idea of calling it a 'monster' not sitting right with her.

"Yes," Vincent nodded, "While I may be mad, I'm not stupid."

"No, quite," the Doctor agreed before squatting beside him, "And, to be honest...not sure about mad either. It seems to me depression is a very complex..."

"Shh," Vincent held up a finger at him, not taking his eyes off the church, "I'm working."

"Well, yes. Paint. Do painting!"

~8~

Vincent had outlined the top of the church and was painting the sky while the Doctor talked, "I remember watching Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel. Do you remember that Angel? Wow! What a whiner. I said to him, 'If you're scared of heights, you shouldn't have taken the job.'"

"Shh!" Amy shushed him.

~8~

Detail had been added to the church, though Vincent was still working on the sky, "And Picasso!" the Doctor continued, "What a ghastly old goat. I kept telling him, 'Concentrate, Pablo, it's one eye, either side of the face.'"

"Doctor…quiet," Angel pleaded.

~8~

Amy stood by Vincent as he continued to paint while the Doctor squatted on the ground, bored out of his mind, Angel amusedly glancing between him and Vincent though her gaze kept getting pulled to the church, "Is this how time normally passes?" he asked, "Really slowly. In the right order," he got up, "If there's one thing I can't stand, it's an unpunctual alien attack," he walked behind Vincent, facing back the way they'd come.

"Are you ok?" Amy glanced at Angel, who was looking at the church intently now, stiff, "You seem a bit tense."

"There's something not right," she replied, "And I can't quite put my finger on it even with my abilities."

"There!" Vincent yelled, "He's at the window!"

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angel can empathize with Vincent, which may or may not be a good thing given how he feels and what he eventually does :( We won't find out for certain just how bad she was, is, or might get till The Girl Who Waited. I sort of interpret Angel's bouts of confidence and strength to be like Vincent's good days, something happens and she finds herself better able to cope with it and feels happy and better about herself...and then something comes along and sets her back again :( But with each set back, I think she'll get stronger and stronger :) I wanted this chapter to be a little bit about Angel/Vincent bonding but it still had a little bit of jealous Doctor here too ;)
> 
> And did you like the little mention of Jenny :) Not quite a memory-flash, but the Doctor remembered something at least briefly :)


	35. Vincent and the Angel: Hope

The Doctor ran back over to Vincent's side, looking intently at the church, but he couldn't see it, "Where?"

"There," Vincent pointed, "On the right."

"As I thought," the Doctor muttered, before nodding to himself, "Come on," he looked at Angel as he picked up the case, "We're going in."

"Well, I'm coming, too," Vincent moved to follow.

"No," Angel held up her hands to stop him, "You can't, your life is far too precious."

"And yours isn't?" Vincent countered, Angel stiffening when he subtly let his gaze flicker to her stomach and back at her.

She swallowed hard, fighting the urge to put her hand on her stomach and give away the fact that Vincent was right, that he somehow knew about her pregnancy. She supposed he would though, the man was the complete opposite of the Doctor, one of the most observant people she'd ever met. As a painter he was used to looking at the details of things, at noticing the slight nuances and shifts about them. But she had to let out a breath when he kept his mouth shut in the seconds that followed, clearly not about to give her away. She was immensely thankful for that, but she supposed they could both understand the need for secrets, even the ones that burdened them.

"We'll be fine," she said, looking at Vincent meaningfully, sounding to the others as though she were speaking about her and the Doctor, though Vincent knew she was really speaking about her and the baby.

"And how do you know?" Vincent shook his head, taking her hand to try and get through to her, a terrible sense of foreboding about this hitting him.

"Psychic," the Doctor cut in, reaching out to lightly tug Angel along with him by the arm. Well, trying to make it _seem_ like he was tugging her along to get started, though the fact that he hadn't moved more than one step made it seem like he was really just pulling her away from Vincent's touch.

"Thief," Angel countered automatically.

"She's right," the Doctor turned to the man,"You're Vincent Van Gogh. No coming."

"But you're not armed!" Vincent shouted, unable to fathom how a man so perceptive about so much could be so blind to the state one of his friends was in.

No, not a friend, something _far_ more precious than that. He could see the colors of the world, of the Universe, in Angel and the Doctor. It was quite startling really, how vividly he saw that. Usually the colors were muted, but...there was something odd about the two, alien. Perhaps that was why. Whatever the reason though, he could see it. The Doctor...he had a blue hue around him, but it seemed dulled by something, with...holes in it. It made him look as though he were surrounded in blue flames that were flickering wildly, but he knew they weren't flickers, they were holes indeed. It was as though there were pieces missing, and the holes, the colors around them, reached out tendrils to Angel's golden-white shine. The tendrils looked almost desperate, needing to attach to her warm glow, but when they touched her, they snapped back, well...more like were _pulled_ back.

And what alarmed him...was that the hue around the Doctor was slowly, ever so SO slowly, growing darker. It was like the tendrils were desperate for her light, to lighten themselves, to push the dark color away and blend into a lighter, better version of itself. But something kept pulling it back. And, when the two stood close to each other, it was like the colors around the Doctor were at war with themselves. It was like there was a clear line between them, the Doctor's color shying away from her own even as the tendrils reached for it. The man was a wreck and didn't even seem to notice and, given the way the colors reacted, longing for Angel but forcing himself away from her.

But why?

"I am," the Doctor countered, pulling Vincent from his thoughts.

"What with?"

"Overconfidence, this," he patted the case, "Angel's intuitiveness, and a small screwdriver. I'm absolutely sorted. Just have to find the right crosactic setting, and stun him with it. Sonic never fails. Anyway, Amy..." he pointed at her, "Only one thought, one simple instruction, don't follow us under any circumstances," he signaled to Vincent to watch her.

"I won't," Amy nodded.

The Doctor gave a thumbs up and headed towards the church with a rather tense Angel.

"Will you follow them?" Vincent asked.

"Of course," she nodded.

"I love you."

~8~

"She's lying," Angel remarked as they walked away.

"Oh, I know," the Doctor sighed.

~8~

The Doctor stopped in the church, setting down the case and opening it, Angel keeping an eye further in, trying to sense if the Krafayis might be near. He pulled out the mirrored device and strapped it on, Angel turning to secure the straps that he couldn't reach behind him. He shot her a smile, holding a finger to his lips, before entering the church slowly and cautiously.

They could already hear a low growling noise in the distance.

The Doctor kept checking the mirror, pulling out the sonic as well, looking at Angel as she stared ahead of her, frowning. He swallowed, blinking, as though JUST realizing he'd taken her in with him to face an invisible monster that she couldn't see and could barely sense, that could hurt her. He reached out, tugging her back by the arm, and moved in front of her, 'Keep back,' he mouthed to her, turning to head on as Angel followed him cautiously.

~8~

Amy paced as Vincent watched the window, "Has he moved?" she asked.

"No, just shifted to the next window. But, wait! He's turning now."

~8~

The Doctor approached the window and checked the mirror, not seeing it, "Damn. He's moved," he put the mirror down and looked up.

Angel's eyes widened, seeing the creature's arm in her mind only a split moment before it swiped at the Doctor. She quickly pulled him back with a shout of, "Doctor!" both of them able to feel the whoosh of air as the arm narrowly missed him.

~8~

Amy and Vincent looked over, hearing Angel's cry, "Doctor!" Amy ran to the door.

"Amy!" Vincent ran after her.

~8~

The Doctor used the sonic as Angel helped lead him to a retreat, both of them doing their best to avoid getting hurt and trying to keep the Krafayis in sight...well, not really _in sight_ , but be aware of it at least.

"Doctor!" Amy burst in.

The Doctor screamed, startled, "Argh! I thought I told you...never mind. We'll talk about it later."

Angel looked around a moment, "Over here!" she shouted, grabbing their arms and pulling them towards a confessional.

The Doctor opened the doors, urging them in, Angel and Amy on one side, him on the other, while the creature moved around outside, "Absolutely quiet," he whispered, sliding the door over the grille between them to look at Amy as she panted, "Can you breathe a little quieter, please?"

"No!" Amy whispered, lifting the curtain to check the room, "He's gone past."

"Shh," Angel warned.

But it was too late, the Krafayis growled, hearing them, and blew on the grating on the girls' side of the confessional, Amy screamed.

"I think he heard us," the Doctor hissed as the creature ripped out a part of the grating from his side, "That is impressive hearing he's got," and then another section, "What's less impressive are our chances of survival!"

"Hey, are you looking for me, sonny?" Vincent yelled as Amy screamed again. They peered out to see him holding up his chair like a lion tamer, "Come on. Over here. Because I'm right here waiting for you," he glanced over and waved them over, "Come on. Quickly! Get behind me."

They ran out behind him, the Doctor flashing the sonic at the Krafayis, "Doing anything?" they backed out of the room, Vincent still holding the chair in front of him defensively while the Doctor looked around wildly, "Where is he?"

"Where do you think he is, you idiot? Use your head," the creature walked towards them and the Doctor stood by Vincent using the sonic again.

"Anything?"

"Nothing. In fact, he seemed to rather enjoy it," they moved apart and the creature swung at the Doctor, "Duck!" he ducked, "Left," he moved left and the Krafayis swatted him away, slamming him into a wall.

"Doctor!" Angel gasped.

"Right, sorry," Vincent winced as the Doctor sat up with a groan, holding his side as Angel and Amy ran over to help him up, "Your right, my left."

"This is no good at all. Run like crazy and regroup!" they scrambled, looking for a way out.

"Over here!" Angel called, running to a back room, holding a door open. They ran in, pushing the door closed but it wouldn't shut all the way.

Vincent made a stomp and the creature pulled its claw away, allowing them to shut it, standing with their backs against it, panting from the run.

"Right," the Doctor nodded, "Ok. Here's the plan. Angel, Amy, Rory…"

"Who?" Amy asked as Angel winced.

"Sorry," the Doctor flinched, more sorry for Angel's reaction than the slip, "Um, _Vincent_."

"What is the plan?"

"I don't know, actually. But in future, I'm just using this screwdriver for screwing in screws," he slipped it back into his pocket.

"Right," Angel scoffed, she didn't need _any_ of her abilities to know that would NEVER happen.

"Give me a second," Vincent called, "I'll be back," and he ran off.

"Do you think we could talk to him?" Angel suggested suddenly.

"Talk to him?!" Amy gaped.

"Well, yes," the Doctor agreed, seeing the point in it, "Might be interesting to know his side of the story," the creature growled, "Yes, though maybe he's not really in the mood for conversation right at this precise moment," he glanced at Angel as a bang sounded on the door, and paused, seeing her frowning at how he'd seemed to have dismissed her suggestion, his hearts pinging painfully at the look on her face. He shook his head, "Well, no harm trying," he grinned and turned to face the door, "Listen. Listen!" the growling stopped, "I know you can understand me, even though I know you won't understand why you can understand me. I also know that no one's talked to you for a pretty long stretch, but please...listen. Angel and I also don't belong on this planet. We also are alone. If you trust me, I'm sure we can come to some kind of, you know, understanding. And then...and then, who knows?" he listened, but heard nothing...

"Duck!" Angel shouted, pulling them down as the window opposite them shattered, sending glass flying above them as the creature leapt inside, roaring and displacing things as it moved about.

Vincent ran in after it with his easel, "Over here, mate!" he looked at the trio and jerked his head for them to move behind him, which they did.

"What's it up to now?" the Doctor squinted.

"It's moving round the room. Feeling its way around."

Amy, Angel, and Vincent moved behind a sarcophagus to 'watch' it closer while the Doctor ducked behind a column, "What?"

"It's like it's trapped. It's moving round the edges of the room."

"I can't see a thing," Amy remarked.

The Doctor blinked, "...I am really stupid," he groaned.

"Oh, get a grip! This is not a moment to reevaluate your self-esteem."

"No, I am _really_ stupid and I'm growing old. Why does it attack, but never eat its victims?" he moved over to the sarcophagus with them, "And why was it abandoned by its pack and left here to die? Why is it feeling its way helplessly around the walls of the room? It can't see, it's blind. That explains why it has such perfect hearing!"

"Which, unfortunately, also explains why it is now turning around and heading straight for us!" Vincent yelled. He stepped forward, holding up the sharp ends of the easel as a weapon.

"Vincent. Vincent, what's happening?"

"It's charging now," he motioned with his hands to stay there, "Get back. Get back!"

"Vincent no!" Angel gasped, suddenly running from around the sarcophagus...and right in front of him.

"Angel!" the Doctor yelled, about to leap up after her when Amy pulled him back.

"It's alright, we won't hurt you!" Angel called, but not at them, holding her hands in front of her in peace, being very still so it wouldn't sense her as a threat, Vincent's eyes widening as the creature slowed down and came to a halt before her, "You're ok," she told it, reaching forward till her hand came in contact with hard air, "You're safe now. We'll help you," she could feel the creature breathing in front of her, his pants slowing as he calmed, "I promise, we'll get you home…just calm down… _breathe_ …" the Doctor and Amy stood up, watching the invisible air before her.

And then there was a thump.

"It…sat down," Vincent breathed, stunned, as he looked at the creature, able to see it now, how helpless it really was, how scared, "He wasn't without mercy at all. He was without sight."

The Doctor slowly made his way out and stood by Angel, reaching out hesitantly to pet the bloodthirsty beast, "There, there. It's ok. You'll be fine. Ssh."

"He was just frightened and I almost…" Vincent walked up and rested a hand on it too, "He lashed out. Like humans, who lash out when they're frightened. Like the villagers who scream at me. Like the children who throw stones at me."

"But it's alright now," Angel told him, reaching out to take his other hand comfortingly, "He's calm now, we can get him home, thanks to _you_."

Vincent looked at her and smiled.

"You all look really strange petting the air," Amy remarked, making them laugh.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel walked back out onto the field where Amy and Vincent were lying on the ground, staring up at the stars, having brought the creature home and returned with not two minutes gone by. Angel had _insisted_ she pilot the return trip as she had been needed to keep the creature calm during the ride there. She didn't know why animals seemed to like her all of a sudden, the Doctor had suggested, as he piloted the box to the Krafayis's planet, that it was just natural for everyone to love her like he did. She'd blinked and asked him to repeat that, her hearts racing, and he'd looked up and said that it was natural for everyone to like her like he did.

That stung a little, but...at least he'd said it the first time and even the second he'd admitted that he liked her, liked having her around.

He'd continued on, saying she just had a very...calming aura that people gravitated to and appreciated and animals were always more in tune with the world around them than humans. It made sense that she had a bit of a way with animals, and very useful at that. The Krafayis would likely have died if she hadn't managed to calm it. So it was a very nice moment to see it back with its pack.

Vincent smiled up at them and motioned for them to join him and Amy on the ground. They laid down, Vincent on either side of Amy and the Doctor, Angel across from him. He reached out and took Amy's hand, then the Doctor's, the two taking Angel's hand as well, the Doctor grinning at how Angel wasn't the one holding Vincent's hand but _his_ hand, "Try to see what I see," he whispered to them, "We are so lucky we are still alive to see this beautiful world. Look at the sky. It's not dark and black and without character. The black is in fact deep blue," Angel smiled, it was almost TARDIS blue, "And over there, lighter blue. And blowing through the blueness and the blackness, the wind swirling through the air and then, shining, burning, bursting through, the stars! Can you see how they roar their light? Everywhere we look, the complex magic of nature blazes before our eyes."

"I've seen many things, my friend," the Doctor said, watching as he imagined the colors, creating 'Starry Night' above them, "But you're right. Nothing quite as wonderful as the things you see."

Vincent gripped the Doctor's hand tighter, "I think you see a truly incredible sight everyday," he remarked to the man, "But you don't quite know how to _look_ ," he sighed, moving his head back to look at Angel behind him a moment, before turning to squeeze Amy's hand, while he admitted he felt a familiar spirit in Angel, _Amy_ had really captivated his interest from the moment he met her, "I will miss you terribly."

~8~

"I only wish I had something of real value to give you," Vincent said the next morning as the Doctor held out one of Vincent's self portraits.

"Oh, no, no," he smiled, "I could never accept such an extraordinary gift."

"Very well," Vincent nodded, "You are not the first to decline the offer."

"I think he means it more of a 'if he has it, then no one else will be able to enjoy it' sort of thing," Angel smiled at him.

Vincent laughed and pulled her into a one-armed hug of thanks for her kind interpretation before turning to Amy, "Amy, the blessed, the wonderful," he hugged her as well, a full hug.

She kissed his cheek, "Be good to yourself and be kind to yourself."

"I'll try my best."

"And maybe give the beard a little trim before you next kiss someone," she touched her cheek and laughed.

"I will. I will. And if you tire of this Doctor of yours, return, and we will have children by the dozen."

"Eek!"

"Doctor, my friend," he took his hand, "We have fought monsters together and we have won. On my own, I fear I may not do as well."

The Doctor hugged him tightly, looking at Angel over his shoulder, both of them sad because they knew what would be coming for the man.

~8~

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" the Doctor asked as they walked away from Vincent's cottage.

"I was thinking I may need some food before we leave," Amy replied.

"Well, no, you're not thinking exactly what I'm thinking."

Angel smiled and turned to face the house, "Vincent!" he popped his head out of the window, shirtless and with a brush in hand, "There's something you need to see."

"Maybe just tidy yourself up a bit first," the Doctor added.

~8~

The Doctor led the small group through the alleys to the TARDIS, "Now, you know we've had quite a few chats about the possibility there might be more to life than normal people imagine?" he stopped with a sigh, seeing the TARDIS covered in papers and posters.

"Yes…" Vincent began slowly.

"Well, brace yourself, Vinny!" he used the key to slice the crack between the doors and opened it, stepping back with Angel and Amy as Vincent looked inside. He stuck his head out and looked at the exterior before stepping in again.

"How come _I'm_ the crazy one and you three have stayed sane?" he mumbled, walking in. Angel laughed, taking Vincent's hat off and placing it on the coat rack by the door as they all walked to the console, "What do these things all do?"

"Oh, a huge variety of things," the Doctor grinned, "This one here," he turned a knob, "For instance, plays soothing music," he danced a bit as he turned it on, "While this one makes a huge amount of noise," a distorted noise sounded, "And this one makes everything go tonto," he pulled a lever and everything shook.

"And this one?"

"That's a friction contrafibulator!" Angel smiled, moving to set some more controls to get them ready for travel again.

"And this?"

"That's ketchup," the Doctor nodded, "And that one's mustard."

"Mmm. Nice!" he gripped the Doctor's shoulders, "Come on. Back to the café and you can tell me about all the wonders of the Universe."

"Good idea. Although, actually, there's a little something we'd like to show you first," he pulled another lever and the TARDIS was off.

~8~

The last of the papers burned off the TARDIS as she reappeared in Paris, the doors opening and the small quartet stepping out, "Where are we?" Vincent frowned.

"Paris," Angel replied, linking her arm with him, "2010 AD. And that," she nodded at the building across the street, "Is the Musee D'Orsay, it holds the greatest paintings in history inside."

"Oh, that's _wonderful_."

Two boys walked past with portable electronics which Vincent stared at, "Ignore that," the Doctor said, "We've got something more important to show you."

He led them into the museum, Vincent overwhelmed by the grandness of it all. Amy led the way past some Monets and Rodins, the Doctor nearly having to drag him away from 'Water Lilies' till they entered the Van Gogh exhibit. Vincent looked around, seeing _his_ paintings in a place for the great and not only that, seeing people _enjoy_ them and couldn't believe it.

The Doctor walked over to Dr. Black, "Dr. Black, we met a few days ago. I asked you about the 'Church at Auvers.'"

Angel smiled and squeezed Vincent's arm, leading him closer, "Oh, yes," Dr. Black nodded, "Glad to be of help. You were nice about my tie."

"Yes. And today is another cracker if I may say so," he grinned at the man's bowtie, "But I just wondered, between you and me, in 100 words, where do you think Van Gogh rates in the history of art?"

"Well, big question. But, to me, Van Gogh is the finest painter of them all," Angel reached out and took Vincent's hand, squeezing it tightly as his eyes teared up at the words, "Certainly, the most popular, great painter of all time, the most beloved. His command of color, the most magnificent. He transformed the pain of his tormented life into ecstatic beauty. Pain is easy to portray, but to use your passion and pain to portray the ecstasy and joy and magnificence of our world, no one had ever done it before. Perhaps no one ever will again. To my mind, that strange, wild man who roamed the fields of Provence was not only the world's greatest artist, but also one of the greatest men who ever lived."

Vincent began to cry as Angel pulled him into a hug.

The Doctor walked over, concerned, "Vincent. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Is it too much?"

"No," he smiled, "They are tears of joy!" he walked over to Dr. Black and gave him a Gallic kiss, "Thank you, sir. _Thank you_!" and hugged him tightly.

"You're welcome," Dr. Black awkwardly hugged him back, not having a clue who the man was or why he was being hugged, "You're welcome."

"Sorry about the beard," he added before walking back to the Doctor and Amy, the girls linking their arms with his as they left.

Dr. Black slowly walked away but quickly turned, his eyes wide as he wondered if that had truly been Van Gogh, but the man was gone.

~8~

The TARDIS materialized in an olive grove close to Vincent's cottage, Vincent stepping out first, exuberant, "This changes _everything_. I'll step out tomorrow with my easel on my back a different man. I still can't believe that one of the haystacks was in the museum. How embarrassing."

"It's been a great adventure and a great honor," the Doctor shook his hand, giving him a hug after.

"You've turned out to be the first doctor ever actually to make a difference to my life."

"I'm delighted. I won't ever forget you," he headed into the TARDIS.

"And you are sure marriage is out of the question?" Vincent turned to Amy.

"This time," she hugged him, whispering, "I'm not really the marrying kind," she kissed him on the cheek and joined the Doctor back in the TARDIS.

"And Angel," Vincent smiled, "The light of the Universe," he hugged her, not noticing her slight tensing at his words.

She smiled though and hugged him back tightly, "I'm so sorry for your pain Vincent," she whispered, pulling back a bit, "No one deserves to suffer like you," she leaned in, kissing him on the forehead, a small golden spark jumping out of her and to him. She squeezed his hands reassuringly. She knew, he would still decide to take his life, he would still suffer the pains of his mind but there would always be a comfort there, as though they were still with him in spirit, helping him, giving him strength. In all honesty, she wasn't sure what was wrong with Vincent, no one really was, so she couldn't be sure that she'd be able to heal him anyway, but she still wanted to give him some sort of comfort, "Good luck."

"You as well," he smiled.

She turned and headed back to the TARDIS, running back up to the console as Amy said, "Come on. Let's go back to the gallery right now!"

~8~

Amy exited the TARDIS, beaming, skipping ahead as she ran to the museum, the Doctor and Angel more reluctant, both knowing which paintings would be there, "Time can be rewritten," Amy cheered, "I know it can. Come on!" she led them up the stairs excitedly, "Oh, the long life of Vincent Van Gogh. There'll be hundreds of new paintings."

"I don't think there will," Angel whispered quietly.

Amy ran in, "Come on!" only to stop short and see the _same_ paintings still there.

"We have here the last work of Vincent Van Gogh, who committed suicide at only 37," Dr. Black was saying to a tour group. Amy closed her eyes in grief as Angel stepped up beside her and put an arm around her shoulders, "He is now acknowledged to be one of the foremost artists of all time. If you follow me now..."

"So, you were right. No new paintings. We didn't make a difference at all."

The Doctor walked over, "I wouldn't say that..." he paused, eyeing the paintings.

~oOo~

_"I'm sorry," he murmured as she ate the last of her cupcake._

_She looked up at him, confused, and he had to chuckle at the small bit of icing at the corner of her mouth, taking a napkin to wipe it off for her, "Thanks," she smiled, swallowing, "But...what are you sorry for?"_

_"This Christmas," he sighed, "Wasn't exactly the best was it?"_

_He'd been so determined to see her having a good Christmas, but it just...hadn't happened. It was just...he loved Christmas so much, he always seemed to end up on Earth for it, and he just wanted her to love it too because, really, that holiday seemed to have been made for her with everything it represented._

_"It wasn't so bad," she shrugged, winding her arms around him, snuggling into him._

_He let out a small laugh, not fully believing her, "Really?"_

_She nodded, closing her eyes, just letting the warmth of the fire and his arms relax her, "Life is a mess of good things and bad things," she murmured, "The good don't always make up for the bad, but the bad don't always ruin the good. As long as you can find one truly good memory in the bad, then the bad aren't so bad after all."_

~oOo~

"The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. Hey," he hugged Amy too, feeling something oddly familiar about the words, "The good things don't always soften the bad things. But, vice versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant," he pulled back.

"And I think we really added to all the good things in his life," Angel told her with a smile.

"And if you look carefully..." he led her over to the 'Church at Auvers,' "…maybe we did indeed make a couple of little changes."

"No Krafayis," Amy realized.

"No Krafayis."

"And…" Angel whispered to Amy, turning her to face the 'Still Life: Vase with Twelve Sunflowers' in the back. Amy frowned but walked over to it, stopping with a smile as the Doctor and Angel joined her. There, written above his signature, were the words 'For Amy.'

"If we _had_ got married, our kids would have had very, _very_ red hair," Amy commented.

"The ultimate ginger," the Doctor laughed.

"The ultimate ginge," she agreed smiling, "Brighter than sunflowers," she turned to look at them, to thank them for the amazing adventure, and blinked, "Oh my God," she let out a little laugh and half-ran across the room to another painting, of an angel that Vincent had made in a style similar to Rembrandt. She looked at her guidebook, completely unchanged due to travel in the TARDIS, to see the angel in IT had _ginger_ hair, but this one...this one had black, "Angel look..." she called as the Time Lords came over, "I don't think I'm the only one to leave an impression."

Angel smiled, seeing that the angel in the painting...looked very much like her, it even had an inscription that brought tears to her eyes, 'For my guiding light.'

She swallowed hard, the Doctor was usually the only one to call her that, but there it was...and it was...it was nice, to know she'd managed to help lead someone else out of the darkness, if only a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh Vincent figured out about the baby! Sweet of him not to say, but I think he feels he owes Angel for quite a bit in helping him ;) And how well did that work out? Van Gogh had a painting of an angel :) I did not even know that till I was writing this episode and wondering what he might be able to paint for Angel, since she helped him :)
> 
> Not a lot of jealous Doctor here since it was more the life-death situation happening, but little hints of it here and there :) I always felt SO bad for the Krafayis :( How it was just so scared and alone and died :( I think, without its sight it would be more sensitive to the world around it and, if it just sensed ONE person who wasn't going to attack it, that it would have been calmer.
> 
> Next couple chapters we get the Lodger! Woo! I'm really excited to see how it all plays out with Angel and the Doctor there, especially since there's only one bedroom for them to share ;) And(!) we're gonna see the garden again :)


	36. The Lodger: The New Lodgers

The TARDIS faded into existence in the middle of a rather lovely park one bright and sunny day. Angel opened the door quickly and stepped outside, taking a few deep breaths...well _that_ was new. She'd never wanted to throw up because of a TARDIS journey before, well...not counting that time she was dying. That hadn't been pleasant. But the Doctor had been going mad in there and the ride was extra jolting, which she knew meant the TARDIS and the Doctor were at war in trying to fight for control of the coordinates. The TARDIS hadn't wanted to come here, the Doctor had insisted, and so the journey was...terrible. She'd nearly been ill on the floor again when the box jolted to a stop and she ran out, needing stability and fresh air. Given her lifetime around TARDISes, becoming ill because of one ride was sure to make the Doctor and Amy suspicious.

They were quite fitting as Pilot and companion, now that she thought about it, both got so invested in the adventures that they missed other things. Though, she could understand how Amy hadn't noticed the 'signs' that she was pregnant where Rory could. Rory was a nurse, he'd been around pregnant women often, he knew what to look for. Amy...hadn't. And Amy's first memory of them was eating fish fingers and custard and liking it. To her, everything odd about how she might act or react or eat was just...her being an alien. The Doctor, at times, almost acted pregnant as well. His odd appetite, his mood swings, so for HER to act similar, to Amy, was just them being their normal, natural alien selves. Amy wouldn't notice that she was pregnant like Rory had.

She honestly wasn't sure if the way the Doctor was acting was his real personality or...something of her leaking through to him. She'd seen it in his mind, after things had calmed down when Rory had been lost. The Doctor had _felt_ her flash of fear when she'd been gassed. She knew he got headaches when she pressed on his mind to try and communicate with him. It HAD to mean that the Mating bonds were still there just...buried or guarded or blocked or _something_. She knew the Dream Lord remembered her, she knew the Doctor was becoming more aware of her, so...perhaps his personality was really just...his subconscious likening him to her. She was pregnant, she was moody and hungry and a mess of other things...and so was the Doctor. Maybe, somewhere in his mind, he remembered they'd Mated, he remembered what could happen, and it was his mind's way of trying to remind him of her, like it was trying to hint at him what was happening with her body by making him act similar. She really had no idea.

All it had really served to do though was make it harder for others who hadn't known them earlier to realize what was happening. To them, this was just how Time Lords were. Though she was fairly certain that heaving in the console room would make Amy more suspicious of her condition. And she didn't want that. The baby...it was so small already, not even a year old, it was still in danger of being lost. And _that_ was what she needed to focus on, keeping the baby safe, keeping it alive and healthy.

She took another breath, feeling her stomach start to settle, and glanced at the Doctor as he just stood in the doorway, looking around, "Wrong place, Amy," she called to the ginger still in the TARDIS, "We're not on the fifth moon of Sinda Callista," she sighed at the Doctor, "I told you to make a left at Saturn."

He frowned, looking out, "I think I can see a Ryman's..." he cut off suddenly when Angel fell to the ground with a jolt and a cry of pain, landing heavily on her knees, a hand pressed to her head, another around her stomach as she hunched over, "Angel!" he shouted, running out to check on her, dropping to his knees before her as his hearts raced, having dropped into his stomach, his mind going numb, at the sight of her suddenly hurt.

He reached out and took her face in his hands, his eyes searching hers for a sign of what was wrong, about to reach for his sonic to scan her, when the TARDIS doors slammed shut and made him spin around.

"Amy!" Angel gasped, trying (and failing) to push herself to her feet to stop the box, "Amy!"

But the TARDIS just disappeared before them.

~8~

The TARDIS flew, out of control, through the Vortex, wires sparking all around the console. Amy pulled herself up from where she'd fallen at the sudden departure and looked at the monitor, "Doctor! It's saying we're on Earth! Essex, Colchester…" the TARDIS stopped shaking but Amy realized neither the Doctor nor Angel were there and the TARDIS was now drifting in space, "Angel?! It's taking off again. Doctor, can you hear me? Angel!"

~8~

"Amy!" the Doctor's eyes widened, staring at where the TARDIS used to be, completely unaware that his arm had moved around Angel's shoulders, holding her close as they were left stranded on Earth, "Amy…"

~8~

_One day later…_

A young man walked down a street, when he heard an older man's voice over the front intercom of the house beside him, "Hello?" it called, "Hello, please? Hello? I need your help. There's been an accident," the young man turned and hesitantly made his way over to the front door, "Please, help me," with a buzz the door opened and he entered.

"Hello?" he called, looking at a foyer with a set of stairs just ahead, a small hallway to the side with series of doors in them, the lights flickered.

"Please, will you help me?"

He shut the door behind him, frowning, concerned, "Help you? What's wrong?"

A figure appeared at the top of the stairs, a dark silhouette of an old man looking down at him, "Something terrible's happened. Please help me," the young man climbed up the stairs and entered the flat as the man stepped back, the door closing on its own.

~8~

The echoes of the young man's scream sounded outside the house, though no one passing seemed to hear it...

~8~

A tall, thin, blonde woman took off her jacket in the parlor of the very same house and draped it over a desk chair, calling to a slightly plump man with stubble as he stood in the kitchen, "Craig, what's that on the ceiling?" she frowned, looking up at a large dark stain in the corner of the ceiling. She hadn't noticed it before, well, she _had_ , but it had been small. It'd gotten much bigger since she'd been there last. She hoped it wasn't black mold or anything dangerous, not for her, but for Craig, the man practically lived in the room.

"What's what on the ceiling?" Craig called.

"That!" she pointed, "It's coming from upstairs. Who lives up there again?"

"Just some bloke," he turned back to fixing tea, not noticing the stain spread as he brought the cups in to the woman and joined her on the sofa, "So what's the plan tonight? Pizza, booze, telly?"

"Yeah, pizza, booze, telly," she smiled...when a loud thump and bang sounded from upstairs, "What is he _doing_ up there?" she wondered as the lights flickered and Craig looked up at the ceiling, eyeing the stain too, "You put the advert up yet?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "Did it today, paper shop window. 'One furnished room, available immediately, shared kitchen, bathroom, with 27-year-old male, non-smoker, 400 pounds PCM, per calendar month, suit young professional.'"

The woman's mobile rang, "Mmm, sounds ideal. That's your mission in life, Craig. Find me a man!" she got up and grabbed her jacket, digging through the pockets for the phone.

"Yeah, otherwise you'll have to settle for me."

"You'll have to settle for me first," she gave him a shy smile before she looked at her phone, "Oh, Melina again," she answered after giving a small huff of annoyance, "What?" she frowned, not even getting to greet the caller before the other had started frantically speaking, "Right. Yeah, but I've kind of got plans," she looked over as Craig stood and climbed on a chair to examine the stain, "No, it's nothing important, it's just Craig."

"Oh, thanks, Soph!" he laughed, rolling his eyes.

"Sorry, you know what I mean!" she whispered to Craig before turning back to the phone, "Ok. I'll talk to Craig, ok," she flipped it closed, sighing, "Now she's having a Dylan crisis on top of the Clare crisis. It could be another all-nighter. I'm sorry, but I really should go. Do you mind if I go?"

"No," He answered quickly, though tense, "Not at all. No, honestly, course not, go."

He really didn't want her to go.

"'Cos I could stay," she offered.

She really didn't want to go.

"No, go on."

"I mean, we've got plans."

"Just pizza."

"Yeah, it's just pizza," they looked at each other awkwardly for a moment, shifting, neither wanting to tell the other how much they really wanted to spend the night just them, but that would mean admitting what they really felt about the other, "Ok!" she took a breath, nodding, "Right, I'm going."

"Alright, then," he gave a nod as well, not seeming pleased with the ultimate decision regardless of what he'd said, watching her pick up her coat, "Well, um, I'll see you soon."

She opened the door, "Yeah."

"Alright, and give me a call, I hope everything's ok."

"Thanks, sorry," she slipped out of the room and closed the door behind her, leaning back against it with a sigh, well there went that evening. She shook her head and headed for the front door, only to hear a banging up stairs. She looked up them to see the image of a man through the stained glass window of his door before leaving the house entirely.

That man gave her the creeps.

~8~

Craig nervously snapped his fingers before walking to the kitchen, smiling at a picture of him and Sophie on the refrigerator door, "Just tell her. Just tell her. 'I love you.' 'I love you.' Oh, just…" he sighed, going over it in his head, "'Hey, I don't know if you knew...' Oh!" he banged his head against the fridge when the front doorbell rang. He looked around and spotted her keys on a bright pink koosh ball key chain, "Every time!" he laughed at her absent-mindedness, grabbing them and heading out, "I love you. I love you," he walked to the front door, "I love you. I love you!" and threw the door open, "I love you!"

His eyes widened, stunned...more like horrified...to see not Sophie on the doorstep but the Doctor and Angel, the Doctor wearing an earpiece, "Well, that's good," the Doctor smiled, "'Cos we're your new lodgers. Do you know," he took the keys out of Craig's hand, smiling at Angel, "This is going to be easier than I expected!"

"But..." Craig shook his head, "I only just put the advert up today, I didn't put my address."

"I mentioned it to him," Angel cut in, her and the Doctor having decided that they would 'play human' for the time being, she'd had a bad feeling about the house, about the second floor and whatever was hiding in it, so they'd agreed no talk of sonics or aliens or being psychic, just...blend in as much as they could, "I um…heard it around town that you had a space."

"And aren't you lucky she did?" the Doctor grinned, winking at Angel who had led him straight to the shop where a note had been posted for them by Amy, telling them to go to this house, probably written sometime in the future, and then she'd led him straight there, where another note had been waiting for them, "Course that's expected, best good luck charm in the Universe!"

"Luckier than you know," Angel murmured, glancing up, thankfully not flinching at the reminder of what the last Doctor used to call her this time.

"Less of a young professional, more of an ancient amateur, but frankly I'm an absolute dream," the Doctor smiled at Craig, "And Angel's not too bad either."

"Thanks," Angel rolled her eyes.

"She's actually rather brilliant," the Doctor continued as though she hadn't spoken, just...looking at her with a soft gaze, smiling at her. Angel blinked and looked back at him, smiling a little when she saw his smile widen at that, "Yes," he nodded, "She really is...just amazing..." his words grew softer, along with his look as he eyed Angel, standing beside him.

He _should_ be worried, upset, angry, that the TARDIS had up and left them stranded on Earth, but...Angel was there. And that made all the difference in the world. He remembered what it felt like, those few trips with just Amy, it had surprised him just how quickly he'd missed Angel, how immediate the reaction in him was to things that reminded him of her, how noticeable the fact that she wasn't there was. It was like everything just served to remind him it was just him and Amy and he'd wanted Angel back with him, he really had. So even now, being trapped on Earth, the TARDIS fleeing somewhere, Amy trapped inside, not knowing what was wrong with the house...it didn't matter, it didn't bother him, because he would face it and work it out, with Angel at his side, as it should be. The last of the Time Lords, together.

Craig looked between them, frowning, slightly confused at the moment. The man was just...gazing at the woman who seemed almost stunned he could even _notice_ her for some reason. Reminded him rather a bit of him and Sophie, but then he shook his head, that wasn't the point, "Hang on, mate, I don't know if I want you staying," he cut in, pulling the Doctor's attention back to him, "And give me back those keys, you can't have those!" he snatched them back.

"Yes, quite right," the Doctor nodded, handing him a small paper bag, "Have some rent," Craig opened it to see it filled with cash notes, and blinked at the Doctor, staring at him and back at the bag in shock, "That's probably quite a lot, isn't it? Looks like a lot. Is it a lot? I can never tell," he stepped past Craig and into the house, Angel shooting him an apologetic smile before following, closing the door behind her as the lights flickered again, making them both look up, "Don't spend it all on sweets. Unless you like sweets. I like sweets. I like Angel too. But she's sweet, so that makes sense. Oh," he spun around and gave Craig two Gallic air kisses, not seeing Angel staring at him with wide eyes for what he'd said, actually...not even seeming to _realize_ what he'd just said either, he was mid-ramble after all, "That's how we greet each other nowadays, isn't it?"

"No," Angel shook her head out of her thoughts, seeing that the Doctor hadn't realized what he said and not wanting to bring it up should he stutter and try to back track over it. She stepped over to Craig, holding out a hand to him, "Hello, I'm Angel, nice to meet you."

"And I'm the Doctor. Well, they _call_ me the Doctor. I don't know why. I call me the Doctor too. Still don't know why."

"Craig Owens," he said slowly, "The Doctor?"

"Yep," he grinned, "And she's the Angel. Like she said. Though _everyone_ knows why she's called that. Everyone _would_ call her that anyway."

Angel shook her head, finding it...oddly amusing, how he was acting. It was...weird, different, but she didn't know why. He was almost jumpy and excited and flustered and there was no reason to be. It was just her...

She paused and blinked, it was _just_ her. This was the first trip that they'd had where it looked like they were going to be on their own, together, for quite a while. Even times in the past where they split up and paired together it was only for a few hours but this...this seemed like it might be a couple days, just the two of them, in each other's company, working it out. And then there was the way he'd acted around Vincent...he'd seemed a bit more...aware of her since that trip, especially when they met other men on their journeys. Well...this would be interesting wouldn't it?

But before she could think more on that and what it might mean, she felt her gaze being pulled to the stairs, to the doorway at the top of it, "Does anyone live up there?" she asked, frowning, the Doctor immediately noticing her look, and not at all because he'd been stealing little glances at her repeatedly, and ran to the base of the stairs, looking up at the door intently, trusting that, if something was making her focus on it, it was important to note.

"Just some bloke," Craig shrugged.

"What does he look like?" the Doctor turned to Craig.

"Normal. He's very quiet," there was a loud bang upstairs, "Usually. Sorry, who are you again? Hello?!" but the Doctor had turned and followed Angel into the sitting room, Craig rushing after them, "Excuse me?"

Angel stopped and looked right at the stain spreading on the ceiling, "Ah!" the Doctor nodded, seeing it as well, "I suppose that's...dry rot?"

"Or damp. Or mildew."

"Or nothing of the sort," Angel murmured with a frown.

"I'll get someone to fix it."

"No, _I'll_ fix it," the Doctor replied, "I'm good at fixing rot. Call me the Rotmeister. No," he shook his head, seeing Angel grimace at that, seeing that she didn't like the name, "I'm the Doctor, don't call me the Rotmeister," he pointed at Craig and spun back to Angel, "I'm the Doctor," he promised her, before whirling around the room with his arms open, making Angel laugh and him beam at having managed that, "This is the most beautiful parlor I have ever seen, you're obviously a man of impeccable taste," he turned and sat on the countertop as Angel walked to stand beside him, feeling like this particular Doctor might need more looking after, "We can stay, Craig, can't we? Say we can."

"You haven't even seen the room."

"The room?"

"Your room."

"My room?"

" _Our_ room," Angel corrected, even though they likely wouldn't be sleeping, they needed to be together to work out what was going on.

"Oh, yes, our room, our room," he agreed, rather quickly if she had to describe it, "Take us to our room!"

Craig just eyed them curiously, they didn't _seem_ like a couple. There was no hand-holding or touching or kisses, well, they _did_ compliment each other, or the Doctor did, but still...he didn't get the 'couple' vibe off them yet they were sharing a room? He sighed and shook his head, it wasn't his place to say anything, and led them down the hall to the bedroom in the back, "Yeah, this is Mark's old room, he owns the place, moved out about a month ago. An uncle he'd never even heard of died and left a load of money."

"Really?" Angel blinked, something about that sounding suspiciously like the Doctor's favored 'won the lottery' excuse.

The Doctor walked over and pressed on the bed, testing it, "How very convenient. This'll do just right. In fact..." there was a noise from upstairs, "No time to lose. We'll take it. Ah...you'll want to see our credentials," he held up the psychic paper, "There...National Insurance numbers..." and switched it behind his back to show him again, "NHS numbers..." and again, "References..."

"Is that a reference from the Archbishop of Canterbury?"

"I'm his special favorite," the Doctor put a finger to his lips.

"No, _I_ am," Angel cut in, walking forward to sit on the edge of the bed, looking up at the men, they'd been walking all day and she was rather tired now, "He wanted you excommunicated…and then beheaded remember?"

"Right…" he winced at the memory, if it hadn't been for whatever Angel had said to the man he'd probably be on his next body by now.

"Are you hungry?" Angel turned to smile at Craig, "I'm starving," they hadn't really eaten since the TARDIS had disappeared as well.

"I haven't got anything in," he frowned.

The Doctor just grinned, "Leave that to me!" and dashed back to the kitchen to raid the fridge and cabinets, Angel was hungry so it made sense to make something for them all to eat didn't it? Angel and Craig followed slower, waching as he made his way through the kitchen, "You've got everything I need for an omelette fines herbes! Pour tre!" and he grabbed a few of the ingredients, starting to cook.

Angel stood back a bit, leaning on the counter to watch him and Craig, thankful that today she actually seemed to be craving eggs which was a relief, for some reason the smell of them tended to always make her nauseous. She looked over at the fridge, smiling at the small Van Gogh portrait magnet on it...when she spotted a picture of Craig and Sophie, "She's lovely," Angel nodded at the picture, "Who is she?"

"My friend, Sophie," Craig replied.

Angel smiled teasingly, "Girlfriend?"

"A friend who is a girl. There's nothing going on."

"Ah, that's completely normal," the Doctor nodded, though he and Angel could both sense Craig was unhappy with the status, "Works for me," he sighed, "Haven't quite seemed to find the right girl again."

Angel blinked, on the verge of feeling hurt at what he'd said when his words had caught up to her, "Again?" she asked. She knew, from what he'd told her of his wife, that there was no love there. So...when had he found the _right_ girl then? She knew...well, she _hoped_ , that it was her, but if HE didn't remember their relationship...where had the _again_ come from?

The Doctor looked over at her, "Sorry, what?"

"You said 'again,'" she pointed out.

He laughed, "No I didn't," and turned back to the food.

"So you two aren't?" Craig looked between them.

"No, no. Just friends."

"Friends sharing a room?"

The Doctor paused and looked up, "Don't friends do that?"

Craig just looked at Angel, who shook her head at him with a sigh and turned to Craig, "So how did you and Sophie meet?"

"At work, about a year ago at the call center," he shrugged.

"Oh, really, a communications exchange?" the Doctor nodded, "That could be handy."

"Firm's going down though. The bosses are using a totally rubbish business model. I know what they should do, I got a plan all worked out, but I'm just a phone drone, I can't go running in saying I know best," he straightened, realizing what he was saying, "Why am I telling you this? I don't even know you."

"I've got one of those faces. People never stop blurting out their plans while I'm around. And Angel's just got that trustworthy feeling about her," he smiled back at Angel, "Trust her with my life I do."

Angel smiled at that, at least he still trusted her as much as he had. That was all she had to do, find...just _one good thing_ in whatever the Doctor said or how he acted around her. Meeting Vincent had reminded her of that, to just...try to find the light in the dark, the good in the bad, and...she found that, by doing that, she saw...little things, that the Doctor did, that gave her...hope. She noticed more of what he said, how he acted around her, that were more than just her being the last of their kind or being a good friend. Even just now, that slip about 'again' made her think that, maybe, it meant he somehow remembered how he felt about her (even if he didn't remember it was HER) and was searching for that again, and maybe he'd find it in her once more.

It gave her hope for the future.

She still wouldn't focus on that though, no, the baby came first and foremost, it _had_ to, maybe...maybe after the baby was born (if it was born, no, it HAD to be born) she could try and work out what had happened to the Doctor again, try to help him remember. But for now, she was just...going to live with it, worry about herself for once, just a bit.

"Right," Craig eyed him oddly before shaking his head, "Where's your stuff?"

"Don't worry, it'll materialize, if all goes to plan."

~8~

The TARDIS tried to materialize, ending up with only a frustrated Amy within as she tried to work the controls, "Oh, which one, which one?! No! Why won't you land?!"

The TARDIS gave an angry, almost irritated, hum.

Amy rolled her eyes, "I can't understand you, you know! I'm not Angel!"

~8~

The Doctor looked over, watching as Angel finished eating a second helping of the omelets he'd made, actually having enough for about 5 servings of it in the end, as he and Craig dropped onto the sofa, having finished their own. He was actually...happy that she seemed to like it. He was worried about her, he didn't see her eat much, she was hardly ever in the kitchen when he was and he knew her last selves hadn't been the best cooks, but...he worried. What if she wasn't eating properly? Whenever they were all together and eating, she ate, but he didn't see her in the kitchen often enough to assuage his mind that she was ok. She looked so thin and small in that dress of hers.

Angel shook her head lightly, smiling as she heard his thoughts about her, his concern, if only he knew that she ate like a _pig_ when he _wasn't_ there. It was just...she was eating more, yes, eating weirder foods, and she didn't want him to comment about how she was eating more than normal...or to see how much of a mess she could be when eating some particular foods. He was oblivious yes, but she couldn't be sure just _how_ oblivious he was. And it wasn't her fault he never saw her eat. She just...preferred to eat alone and the TARDIS seemed to take that into consideration, shifting the hallways so that, when he came looking for her, it took him longer to reach the kitchen, giving her time to finish eating and slip out to the console room.

"Oh, that was incredible!" Craig smiled, drawing the Doctor's attention to him, "That was absolutely brilliant. Where did you learn to cook?"

"Paris, in the 18th century," he said, "No, hang on, that's not recent, is it? 17th? No, no, no, 20th. Sorry, I'm not used to doing them in the right order."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a bit weird?"

"Almost every single person who's ever met him," Angel commented as she walked over with her third helping, the last serving of the omelet, already with a big bite in it, to sit on the floor by a small coffee table, not really comfortable with sitting next to Craig and not sure how the Doctor would react to her sitting on the armrest of his chair. And the floor was fine, she could rest her elbow on the coffee table to lean on it, it was just the right height.

"Ever been to Paris, Craig?" the Doctor looked at him.

"Nah, I can't see the point of Paris. I'm not much of a traveler."

"I can tell from your sofa."

"My sofa?"

"You're starting to look like it."

Craig chuckled, "Thanks, mate, that's lovely! No, I like it here," he started playing with the pink key chain, which Angel and the Doctor eyed, "I'd miss it, I'd miss..."

"Those keys?"

"What?"

"You're sort of...fondling them."

"I'm _holding_ them," he corrected, putting them down on the sofa's arm.

"Of course," Angel smiled, having a feeling of who those keys belonged to.

"Anyway..." Craig got up after a few minutes of silence and walked to a table by the door, scooping out a set of keys from a bowl on it, "These...these are your keys."

"We can stay?" the Doctor got up and walked into the kitchen to stand by him.

"Yeah, you're right, she's sweet," he smiled at Angel, not seeming to notice the Doctor pout at that, "And you're weird and you can cook," he added, turning to the Doctor, "It's good enough for me," he held up the keys as Angel stood up and walked over, finishing the last of her omelet, "Right, outdoor, front door, your door."

"My... _our_ door. Our place. Our gaff," he took the keys, looking at Angel, amused, "Ha ha! Yes! Me with a key."

"And listen, Mark and I, we had an arrangement where, if you ever need me out of your hair, just give me a shout, ok?" Craig winked.

The Doctor returned the wink, before asking, "Why would I want that?"

"In case you want to bring someone round. A girlfriend or...a boyfriend?"

Angel walked over to the sink, rinsing off her dish so the boys wouldn't notice the expression on her face at Craig's implication of the Doctor being with another person.

"Oh, I will. I'll shout if that happens. Yes. Something like...I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS!"

"Craig?" Angel called, turning around, the sinking feeling that had hit her stomach the moment she stepped into that room earlier twisting inside her, "That...rot," she glanced at it, "Please, don't touch it."

Craig eyed her a moment before nodding.

She smiled at him, placing the dish in a drying rack and walking out, the Doctor following.

~8~

The Doctor flopped down on the bed, the comm. blinking in his ear as he tapped it, Angel sitting at the foot of the bed, "Earth to Pond, Earth to Pond. Come in, Pond."

"Doctor!" Amy suddenly yelled, making the Doctor wince at the feedback while Angel giggled a bit, "Oh. Sorry!"

"Could you _not_ wreck my new earpiece, Pond?"

~8~

Craig was lying in his bed, in his room on the other side of the wall to the Doctor's and Angel's, looking over the money the Doctor gave him as he talked on the phone with Sophie, "No, I mean, he seems a laugh and his girl isn't half bad. He's a bit weird, good weird, you know?"

"And he just happens to have _three grand_ on him in a _paper bag_?" Sophie asked.

"Yeah."

"Wait, wait. 'The Doctor?!'" she gasped, "Craig, what if he's a _dealer_?!"

~8~

A woman walked down the street, in tears obviously after a very bad evening at the clubs, when a voice called out from the intercom, "Hello. Stop, please. Can you hear me? I need your help."

~8~

"Amy how's the TARDIS doing?" Angel cut in.

"See for yourself," Amy replied and then they heard a stained wheezing noise.

"Oh, nasty," the Doctor sat up.

"It sounds like she's locked in a materialization loop," Angel explained to Amy.

"You can tell that just from a grinding noise?" Amy spoke.

"Yes."

Amy was silent a moment, "Right well, what's a materialization loop?"

"She's trying to land again but she can't seem to do it."

"And whatever's stopping it is upstairs in that flat," Amy stated, "So go upstairs and sort it!"

~8~

"Please. My little girl's hurt," the woman turned and entered the house.

~8~

"I don't know what it is yet!" the Doctor stood up on the bed, "Anything that can stop the TARDIS from landing is big, scary big!"

"Wait...are you scared?" Amy asked.

The Doctor paused, was he? He shook his head, no, no of course he wasn't. What was there to be scared of? So there was something in the flat. Ok. He'd dealt with worse...probably. And he had Angel there! What better way to face the unknown than with a psychic? He frowned though, something... _striking_ him about that. Angel was there. He put a hand to his chest, feeling it constrict painfully at that thought, Angel was there. Angel was there and about to help him face a big, scary thing upstairs that he didn't know what it was. What if something happened? What if Angel missed something? What if...what if she got hurt?

He swallowed hard, ok...so a bit scared then.

~8~

A young man was standing at the top of the stairs, "I'm so sorry, but will you help me? Please."

"Help you?" the woman climbed up them.

~8~

"A bowtie, are you serious?!" Sophie laughed.

Craig paused, hearing the Doctor through the wall, "Hang on a sec."

"What? Craig, Craig?"

He got up and walked to the wall, pressing his ear against it, listening as the Doctor randomly spoke, "...orange juice, eocenes Arbuckle, rare tarantula on the table, oh!"

~8~

"We can't go up there until I know what it is and how to deal with it," the Doctor determined, yes, Angel was psychic, but she was also a person, he would _not_ risk her safety, "It is vital that this 'man' upstairs doesn't realize who and what we are," he bounced on the bed and smiled.

"No sonicing then," Angel smiled at him.

He nodded, "No advanced technology. We can only use this," he tapped the earpiece, "'Cos we're on scramble," he jumped to the floor, "To anyone else hearing this conversation, we're talking absolute gibberish."

~8~

"Practical eruption in chicken," Craig frowned at the words coming from the Doctor, "Descartes Lombardy spiral."

~8~

"All we've got to do is pass as an ordinary human being," the Doctor continued, "Simple. What could possibly go wrong?" he put on a pair of sunglasses he'd picked up.

"Must you say that?" Angel mumbled, rubbing her face.

"Have you _seen_ you?" Amy laughed.

"So you're just going to be snide?" the Doctor remarked, "No helpful hints?"

"Hmm, well, here's one...bowtie, get rid!"

The Doctor checked himself in the mirror, "Bowties are cool," and put the sunglasses in his pocket, "Come on, Amy, I'm a normal bloke, tell me what normal blokes do."

"They watch telly, they play football, they go down the pub..."

The Doctor flipped though a book, "I could do those things! I don't, but I could!"

"And for a good reason," Angel reminded him, "Do you remember what happened last time you drank with Henry XII? You nearly started an intergalactic war and then…" she suddenly fell off the bed with a jolt and a cry of pain, falling to her already tender knees, grabbing her head in her hands tightly.

"Hang on!" the Doctor shouted to Amy, rushing to kneel at Angel's side, frantic and alarmed at the sudden and violent reaction, "What is it?"

"Feel like I'm...being pulled apart," she groaned. She'd only felt this way a few times, like when they'd been sucked back to Satellite 5 and the TARDIS had protected her from being transmatted out , or when the TARDIS had pulled her in on Kroptor. She gasped, "It's the TARDIS!"

"Amy?!" the Doctor yelled to Amy a moment before Amy started screaming, he could hear the TARDIS shaking even from there.

"Doctor the clocks..."

He looked over to see the hands on the clocks in the room spinning back and forth before looking at his watch to see it doing the same, "Interesting. Localized time loop."

"Ow!" Amy grunted, "What's all that?"

"A time distortion," Angel told her. She _knew_ it. The TARDIS was trying to pull her back, wanting her help to land or wanting to protect her or whatever the reason, but whatever was upstairs was interfering and keeping her there. It was _not_ a pleasant experience by any stretch of the imagination.

"Whatever's happening upstairs, is still affecting you," the Doctor agreed.

Amy screamed again, groaning for a moment before things quieted down, "It's stopped...ish! How about your end?"

The Doctor looked at Angel who rubbed her head a moment, slightly panting, before nodding and shakily getting up. He rushed to her side as she stumbled, his arms winding around her as she looked up at him, "Thanks," she murmured as he steadied her.

He nodded, "No problem," but didn't let go of her, just...stared at her. It was night, the lights were off in the room, the only light coming from the moonlight out the window...moonlight which made her look just...breathtaking and, oddly enough...wrong. Like...the moonlight shouldn't be associated with her but...just light, daylight, starlight, just... _light_...

~oOo~

_His world had been so dark after the War, so empty, so...cold. He'd met Rose and she was a good distraction, he could pretend for a moment or two that he was just flying away from Gallifrey, from the Time Lords and all their stuffy rules, and just showing the Universe to his next companion. But that was all she was, a distraction from the truth. Angel though...he couldn't describe what she was to him. If Rose was like a meteor, streaking across his darkened sky, lighting it up for a moment before fading and leaving him in darkness once more...Angel was like the sun, the ever-rising, never-setting sun. She was always there, she was always shining, and happy, and smiling, and laughing, and warm, and...meeting her had become the most important moment in his long life. Meeting her...he didn't feel dark, not with her faith in him and her trust and belief he was a good man, he didn't feel empty with her love shining at him through her eyes and her presence always at his side, he didn't feel cold when she gave such magnificent hugs that literally warmed his hearts and her hand fitting perfectly in his when she held it sending the best feeling up his arm and into his body._

_It actually scared him at times how perfect she was for him, how much she balanced him. Whenever he felt himself tipping towards the dark and the rage and the hate...there she was, his guardian angel, lighting the way back._

_He couldn't imagine his life without her..._

~oOo~

"Doctor!" Amy shouted, snapping him out of the moment, making him leap away from Angel, "You ok?"

He nodded, "Our end's good."

"So, doesn't sound great, but nothing to worry about?"

"No, no, no, not really! Just keep the zigzag plotter on full, that'll protect you."

Angel rolled her eyes, that was _not_ the right name for it. But he seemed to like inventing ridiculous names for the switches and controls of the TARDIS, like the Wibbly Lever among others, just like her sister had.

"Ah!" Amy gasped as the sounds of the TARDIS straining could still be heard.

"Amy, I said the zigzag plotter!"

"I pulled the zigzag plotter!"

"Amy, is the door behind you?" Angel asked, knowing which lever the Doctor meant despite the ridiculous name.

"Yes!"

"Right, just take two steps to your right and pull the lever next to it," she added, knowing that it was likely the case that Amy had gotten the levers confused, or the Doctor had called one lever that but it was a different one. She really _should_ teach Amy how to pilot the TARDIS, or at least the basics of it...

A moment later the grating noise eased.

"Brilliant," the Doctor smiled, "Now, I must not use the sonic. We've got work to do," he looked at Angel, "Need to pick up a few items," he tapped the earpiece and walked out.

Angel just sighed and followed after him, this was going to be a _long_ night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww :) I wonder what the Doctor will be like when it really is just him and Angel together on an adventure ^-^ I can say that the next chapter will have a very sweet scene with the Doctor :) Did you like all the little slips of tongue that he had in this chapter lol :) He's definitely noticing Angel more -squeals- which is wonderful :) This was one of my favorite episodes to write out :)


	37. The Lodger: Football and Scanners

The middle of the night would find the Doctor walking backwards towards the house, pulling a shopping trolley behind him, one that was filled to the brim with various odds and ends as Angel carried a few items he couldn't fit in the trolley in her arms, "Shh!" he whispered to a cat that meowed, "Don't get comfortable!"

Angel laughed and shifted the items in her arm, reaching out to lightly stroke the cat's head, making it purr in contentment.

The Doctor smiled at her before he pulled out the house keys and unlocked the front door, holding it open for Angel to step in after him.

~8~

"Now, I think that's all sorted," the Doctor was saying as he finally sorted through all the odds and ends, he'd taken more than he needed, probably, half the items were really just junk, but they were shiny and interesting and odd and he loved that! But it had taken him nearly half the night to get through the useful pieces and stop playing with the other pieces, but he'd done it!

...and now that he'd gotten through that he realized Angel had gone rather silent about an hour or two ago.

"Angel?" he looked back and had to smile, because Angel was curled up on the bed, on her side, facing the door, sound asleep, still in her clothes, still with her cowboy boots on. He let out a soft laugh at that, he'd been rambling along as he worked, finding various trinkets and describing what they were used for on Earth and in other star systems and it seemed his voice had lulled her to sleep...

~oOo~

_Angel was laying curled up on the seats they had been sitting in before, the lights dimmed as Hobbes gave a presentation with slides of all his research to the passengers, more like a lecture than anything else. He smiled as he watched her finally seem to be able to sleep. Honestly, he should have thought about this earlier, she'd often talked, when they would discuss the Academy, of how dreadfully boring she found it all, save classes about the theories and actualities of time and space, and history. Oh she'd loved those classes far more than the sciences or maths or literatures or any other subject the Academy had to offer, and it made sense now, her innate talent with the TARDISes, her connection to them, she just...understood time and space in a way he doubted he ever would, despite all his travels through it. But still, he should have known that as soon as Hobbes started lecturing she'd fall right to sleep. Perhaps he'd experiment a bit with lecturing her when they got back to the TARDIS see if he couldn't help her fall asleep as well, maybe go on and on about the most boring topic he could think of, watching paint dry or grass grow or...time passing slowly and in the right order. It might work, according to her, even when he gobbed on about tech in a manner she couldn't follow, she just loved the sound of his voice, it soothed her._

~oOo~

He shook his head, getting up to walk over to her, sitting on the edge of the bed beside her, about to reach out a hand and wake her...when he hesitated. She looked so...peaceful, beautiful really, and...tired. He'd noticed she was a bit more tired on their adventures lately, retiring to her room after a few of them and sleeping. Which wasn't odd, they DID require sleep at times, just...not as much as a human and she was sleeping almost the same amount as Amy, though a bit less. He knew from his own experience that falling asleep at times could be difficult and Angel had admitted having trouble falling asleep since losing Rory.

He couldn't bring himself to wake her up and disturb the sleep she _was_ getting, it seemed she really did need it, and he wouldn't begrudge her of that.

He let out a soft laugh as she shifted in her sleep, burying her face a little more in the pillow, her hair starting to fall onto her face and, before he even realized he'd done it, he reached out and gently brushed the hair back, away from her cheek, behind her ear. He tilted his head as he looked at her, just...watching her sleep a moment or two longer, when he realized...his hand was still against her cheek, softly brushing against it, stroking it with the backs of his fingers and knuckles, and pulled away, frowning as he looked at his hand.

Why had he done that?

He shook is head and got up, heading back to the different parts, ready to get to work in building what he needed to build, when his gaze was pulled back to Angel once more. He'd been doing that a lot lately, looking at her, he supposed he had really missed her quite a lot when she'd been with Torchwood, to keep looking at her as much as he did. He straightened though when he noticed she had fallen asleep on top of the covers.

He let out a breath, "Daft girl," he murmured fondly, walking to the bed where a soft throw blanket was lying at the foot and grabbed it, bringing it up to cover her so she wouldn't get cold. It was a bit chilly out and he knew how touchy humans could get about someone tinkering with their thermostats, so he didn't dare touch it to increase the heat in the house. He tucked the blanket a bit when he reached her head, smiling as she snuggled into it.

He reached out one more time, more to put his hand on her head and stroke her hair just once, before he leaned down and placed a goodnight kiss on her hair as well, "Sweet dreams," he whispered, moving back to the items and getting to work as quietly as he could.

~8~

The next morning would find Craig standing outside the bathroom, the water from the shower running inside with the Doctor singing what sounded like opera. He knocked on the door, "Doctor!"

"Hello?!" he called.

"How long are you going to be in there?"

"He likes a good soak," Angel said, walking it through the front door with a brown bag of groceries, "He'll be in there for a while, come on, I'll make breakfast for you," she smiled widely at that, it seemed like she could FINALLY cook! Very basic things though, but she was just thrilled! She could make all the brownies she wanted now and not have to worry about setting fire to the kitchen or ending up a gooey or floury mess like she'd done on a few occasions.

"Oh, sorry!" the Doctor shouted through the door as she walked past and into the kitchen, "I like a good soak!"

Craig looked between the bathroom and the kitchen, odd those two were, they appeared so much like a couple but, at the same time, not one. Angel seemed to know all these intimate details about the Doctor and the Doctor hardly ever took his eyes off Angel or stopped speaking about her, yet they weren't close like a couple might be, or at least not to him anyway. He shook his head and turned to walk into the kitchen, when a loud banging sounded from above, "What the hell was that?"

"What did you say?"

"I'm just going to go upstairs, see if he's ok," Craig called as he walked towards the flat door.

"Sorry?"

Craig opened the door to the hall and headed up the stairs.

~8~

The Doctor peeked around the shower curtain, full of soap, "What did you say?"

~8~

Craig knocked on the door upstairs which was opened only a crack by an older gentleman, "Yes? Hello?"

~8~

"Craig?" the Doctor grabbed a towel, trying to get out at the same time, which only served to make him slip to the floor, falling down and taking the curtain with him.

~8~

"It's me from downstairs," Craig said, "I heard a big bang."

~8~

The Doctor sat up quickly, soap in his eyes that he tried, but failed, to wipe away, "No choice...it's sonicing time," he blindly reached out and grabbed for the sonic in a cup by the mirror that also held quite a few toothbrushes...

~8~

"Thank you, Craig, but I don't need your help," the door closed.

~8~

The Doctor ran out of the bathroom, when the towel wrapped around his waist slipped to the floor, "Oops!" he grabbed it and ran out...not even noticing Angel blush and turn back into the kitchen from where she'd peeked out to check on him, having heard a thump from in the bathroom and the water turn off.

~8~

The Doctor ran into the hall and aimed the device in his hands up the stairs, "What happened?" he demanded of Craig, "What's going on?"

"Is that my toothbrush?" Craig asked as he walked down the steps.

The Doctor looked at what was in his hands, which was indeed an electric toothbrush and _not_ the sonic as he'd thought, "Correct. You spoke to the man upstairs?"

"Yeah."

"What did he look like?"

"More normal than you do at the moment, mate," he eyed the Doctor, with his hair wet and stuck up, soap all over him, holding the electric toothbrush as though it were a weapon, and wearing nothing but a towel, "What are you doing?"

"I thought you might be in trouble."

"Thanks," he chuckled, "Well, if I ever am, you can come and save me with my toothbrush."

"Craig, phone!" Angel called from the kitchen a moment before the phone rang. Craig hurried off to answer it as the Doctor cautiously climbed up the stairs.

"Oh!" Sophie gasped as she entered the flat to see him halfway up the stairs...and in a towel, "Hello?"

"Ah! Hello! The Doctor," he came down, "Right. You must be Sophie."

"Mhmm," she nodded, when he gave her two Gallic air kisses, "Oh...oh!"

"What's that smell?" the Doctor inhaled deeply, grinning, "It smells _amazing_!" before turning to enter the flat quickly. He walked into the kitchen to see Craig on the phone and _Angel_ standing at the stove, making something on a pan, "Ooh, what's that?" he moved beside her, Sophie watching as she entered, as he seemed to nearly slip his arm around Angel's waist as he moved next to her, only to rest his hand on the small of her back instead, still...standing a bit too close for people who were 'not a couple' as Craig had told her on the phone last night.

Angel looked up, "Raspberry and chives pancakes," she replied before noticing Sophie, "Oh hello!" she turned around, walking over to the woman, leaving the Doctor at the stove, "You must be Sophie," she reached out a hand to her, "I'm Angel, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Sophie smiled.

"Would you like some breakfast?" she asked, heading back to the stove and shutting it off, putting a few of the pancakes on a dish, the Doctor reaching out to take one of the already made and cooling ones, eating it folded over.

"No thanks," Sophie eyed the concoction oddly, "I already ate."

"This is delicious!" the Doctor cheered, beaming as he munched on it, taking another bite.

"Really?" Angel smiled at him.

He nodded, swallowing his mouthful, "Looks like you can cook now eh?"

Angel looked at him, seeing in his mind that he remembered that she was a terrible cook, really remembered just HOW bad she was, but didn't seem to remember that he'd tried to teach her how or any of the little moments they'd shared in the process, but still, it was a compliment she was willing to take, "Looks like it," she nodded.

He just reached out and took another pancake, which made her smile that he seemed to like it. She walked over to the fridge, pouring herself a cup of orange juice before heading back to the counter, taking one of the pancakes and rolling it up...only to dip it in the orange juice and eat it, which made Sophie grimace a bit...but then the Doctor tried it too and soon enough they were both eating raspberry-chive pancakes soaked in orange juice.

Weird they were.

Craig walked in from the sitting room, on the phone, "No, Dom's in Malta, there's nobody around. Hang on a sec," he looked over at the Doctor, "We've got a match today, pub league, we're one down if you fancy it?"

"Pub league?" he asked, his mouth a bit full of pancake, "A drinking competition? Or is that a pub quiz?"

~oOo~

_"A hermit with friends?"_

_"And a Mate," he added, squeezing Angel once more for good measure, "Hermits United. We meet up every ten years. Swap stories about caves. It's good fun…for a hermit."_

_Jack smirked, "What, did you pick her up over your shoulder like a caveman and whisk her off to your cave Doc?" he grinned widely, "I'd imagine there'd be quite a bit of grunting going on then so it really would work."_

_"Cavemen don't grunt," Angel told Jack matter-of-factly, not noticing his face growing redder behind her, "Not with the translation circuits working, even that would be turned to English."_

_"Angie you are even more adorable now than you were before," Jack smiled, nudging her chin with his fist, "I like this new you. Especially loving the ginge thing."_

_Angel smiled at that, pleased he was ok with the new her, she knew how jarring it had been for Rose to see him change, and she was especially happy to hear he liked her red hair. Which reminded her..._

_"I think it's high time Hermits United and Gingers United went head-to-head in something," Angel remarked, turning back to him, "Maybe a...pub quiz? That's a thing right?"_

_He smiled and nodded, "We'll set up a match when we get back."_

~oOo~

"No...football...play football?" Craig nearly laughed.

"Football. Football! Yes, blokes play football! I'm good at football, I think," he looked at Angel, who could only shrug.

"You've saved my life!" Craig patted him on the cheek before turning into the phone, "I've got somebody. Alright, see you down there," he clicked it off and smiled at Sophie, "Hey, Soph."

The Doctor swallowed his last bite of pancake and moved to the fridge, taking out a carton of milk.

"Hey, I thought I'd come early and meet your new flat mates," Sophie smiled.

"Do you play, Sophie?" the Doctor looked at her, taking a drink right from the carton.

"No, Soph just stands on the sidelines, she's my mascot," Craig replied.

"I'm your _mascot_?" Sophie eyed him, "Mascot?!"

Angel stood by the counter, eating bits of her pancakes, watching the interaction, as fascinated as she always was by humans.

"Well, not my mascot, it's a football match, I can't take a date."

"I didn't say I was your date."

"Neither did I," they stood there, awkward, silent.

"You'd better get dressed," Angel called to the Doctor, who nodded and handed Craig his toothbrush back, walking off to the rented room.

"Oh, the spare kit's just in the bottom drawer," Craig told him.

"Bit of a mess," the Doctor shut the door to get changed, Angel standing out in the kitchen not only to finish eating but to give the Doctor some privacy to dress.

"What d'you think?" Craig asked Sophie, not seeming to have noticed Angel still there behind them.

"You didn't say he was _gorgeous_!" Sophie remarked as Angel smiled softly at that.

The Doctor opened the door and peeked out, "You unlocked the door. How did you do that? Those are your keys," he pointed to the pink keys she was now holding again, "You must have left them last time you came here."

"Yeah, but I...how do you know these are my keys?"

"I've been holding them!" Craig defended.

"I have got another set," Sophie held up another key ring.

"You've got _two_ sets of keys to someone else's house?" the Doctor eyed her.

"Yeah."

"I see! You must like it here too," he closed the door.

Angel sighed and went to throw out the last crispy bits of her pancake and froze, the sick feeling returning to her stomach. She swallowed hard, praying it wasn't what she thought it was, before she looked down behind the rubbish bin...to see a crack in the wall. It was a small one, a very, very small one, thankfully. But...it still made her feel just as ill to be near. She backed up, making it seem like she was going back to the counter and leaned on it, crossing her arms over her stomach, her gaze on the bin. She'd been hoping, when they hadn't seen any cracks the last few trips, that maybe whatever had happened to create them had been sorted and that was the last of the cracks.

Silly her.

~8~

Angel sat on the edge of the bed while the Doctor pulled the football shirt on over his head, talking to Amy on the comm., "So we're going out, if we hang about the house all the time, him upstairs might get suspicious, notice us," he then realized that his shirt was on backwards and switched it around.

"Football, ok, well done, that _is_ normal," Amy replied.

"Yeah, football, all outdoorsy. Now, football's the one with the sticks, isn't it?"

Angel shook her head at him, while she wasn't familiar with many human sports, she was pretty sure that football involved feet and not sticks.

This would undoubtedly be interesting.

~8~

The four of them were walking through the park towards the field, Angel glancing over to a tree, the same tree the TARDIS had parked beside before the old box had taken off, biting her lip, hoping the box might appear again. It would be easier and safer to scan for what was going on in the house from the TARDIS. It was too complicated a process to be able to talk Amy through it, the girl barely knew how to operate the data banks and only because the Doctor had shown her on the way to visit Vincent.

"What are you actually called, what's your proper name?" Craig glanced at the Doctor as they neared the field.

Angel had to smile at the fact that her chosen name actually sounded like an Earth name so she didn't get asked that often, but it was always amusing. She wondered just how many times he'd been asked that in his long life. It actually tended to be the first question people asked him now that she thought about it.

"Just call me the Doctor," he said.

"Yeah," Sophie smiled.

"I can't say to these guys, 'Hey, this is one of my new flat mates, he's called the Doctor,'" Craig replied.

"Why not?" the Doctor shook his head.

"'Cos it's weird."

"Alright, Craig!" a young black man in a blue football shirt that matched the Doctor's and Craig's walked up to them, "Soph. Alright, mate."

The Doctor shook his hand, "Hello, I'm Craig's new flat mate," he gave him a Gallic kiss to which Angel tried her very best no to laugh at the look on the man's face, "I'm called the Doctor. And this is Angel."

"Nice to meet you," she gave the man a little wave.

"You too," the man smiled, "I'm Sean," he turned back to the Doctor, "Where are you strongest?"

"Arms," he answered promptly.

"No, he means, what position?" Craig cut in, before adding, "On the field?" when he saw the Doctor stare at him blankly.

"Not sure. The front? The side? Below?"

"Are you any good though?" Sean eyed him.

The Doctor spun the ball on his fingertips, "Let's find out!" he kicked the ball and headed out onto the field.

Angel laughed as the team headed out after him, leaving her and Sophie at the side lines, "So…" Sophie began, "Are you and the Doctor…you know?"

Angel looked at her, "Are you and Craig?" they both shared a knowing look before laughing.

Angel smiled, that was...nice, just...talking, even for a bit, with another woman. She used to do it all the time with the Doctor's companions, but...she just...hadn't quite...felt that comfortable with Amy just yet. It was rude, she knew, it was probably very _very_ rude to not even make the effort to form some sort of relationship with the girl. All the Doctor's companions since the War, even a few from before, had become very close to her, either as siblings or best friends or even favored aunts, like Sarah Jane. But it was like there was just...something holding her back from making that connection to Amy.

She knew what it was too, a few things really. Amy's disrespect for Rory (though she had admittedly gotten SO much better), for one. She couldn't quite get over the fact that the girl, on the night before her wedding to a wonderful man who loved her more than anything in the Universe, would be willing to throw all that away for, well, sex with the Doctor. Not that it wasn't amazing in its own right, it was. It really, _really_ was, to the point where she found herself blushing just remembering it. But still...no one deserved for that to happen to them, no one deserved for the person they loved to try and seduce another person like that. It...hurt her...badly for Rory that Amy had been willing to do that. She knew Amy had made up for it, had realized how much she really did love Rory and had treated him so sweetly that she often smiled seeing the couple together. But it still lingered.

And then there was Amy's slight crush/obsession with the Doctor. Yes, Amy had gotten over that as well, and she hadn't known the Doctor was Mated, not even the Doctor seemed to know he was Mated, so she supposed she couldn't fault the woman for wanting to go after him when she perceived him to be available. But it still stung, and...she noticed Amy seemed inclined to believe that River Song was truly the Doctor's wife, that SHE had no relation or closeness to him in the future. And that...bothered her. She knew Amy had no idea what had happened, she didn't even know what would happen in the future, for all she knew...

River _might_ be his wife.

And she might _still_ be his forgotten Mate.

She swallowed hard, shaking her head, not willing to think about that and get more upset.

And there was also the fact that Amy had forgotten Rory so easily. Granted, he'd never been born, Amy's own past had been rewritten, and the girl DID seem to remember Rory even a little, in ways. She often saw Amy with this look in her eyes, like she was just an inch away from remembering something and it would disappear. Amy was sadder, quieter, since Rory had been lost and she knew it had to be Amy's heart's way of telling the ginger that she'd lost something she loved terribly. She supposed it was just her relating that instance with the Doctor's amnesia as well. It terrified her more than she could say to know that it was a very real possibility that she would be erased from time at some point in the future, and THAT was why the Doctor had forgotten he was Mated to her now. How could he remember if she had never been born for it to happen?

She sighed, all in all, thinking on it, nothing was really Amy's fault and everything Amy'd done she'd more than made up for. She didn't hold grudges, she didn't like them, to her it took more effort to be angry with someone and to keep them at a distance than to just forgive them and move on. And...Amy was her companion's fiancé, Amy was someone he loved and cherished, Amy should be someone she was close to as well. She nodded, taking a breath, when all this was sorted, she would see to it that she and Amy had more time to bond, had more moments that would help them grow closer. She'd try more, try to talk to the woman, try to help her remember Rory because...Amy did remember him, she could tell, deep down in the girl's soul, she remembered Rory.

And Rory deserved to be remembered.

She looked up suddenly when a whistle blew to see the game had started.

~8~

Surprisingly, the Doctor was really _very_ good, dominating the field, intercepting passes to other players, scoring goals. Sophie and Angel cheered from the sidelines, though Angel noticed Craig seemed to be a bit upset at that so she'd started cheering for him as well, and other members of the team too since that's what they were, a team. She'd been very pleased when her chant for Craig had picked up a bit...but then the Doctor had stolen the show, seeming just a bit smug when the crowd began to chant his name instead. She shook his head, she'd heard a bit of what had been going on in his head, apparently he was quite pouty about the fact that she'd cheered for Craig.

She didn't understand it.

At times he acted like they were _just_ the friends he kept claiming they were, but then at other times he'd tug her closer or away from people (men) or try to pull her attention to him...and he didn't even seem to realize it. She hoped, vaguely (as she didn't want to get her hopes up), that perhaps he was falling in love with her again...the way his 9th self had. It really _was_ quite a bit like his 9th self except that she could hear his thoughts this time. His 9th self hadn't ever expected to find love, hadn't thought about it, hadn't even realized he was falling into it with her.

This Doctor...well...he reminded her quite a bit of that, like...he firmly believed that they were JUST friends, to the point where he couldn't reconcile the fact that he might feel more for her than that.

She didn't understand _why_ though, why was it so hard for him to believe he might love her?

She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer either.

~8~

A blonde woman was walking down the street when a little girl's voice came over the intercom of a house, "Please can you help me? Can you help me, please? Can you help me?"

She stopped and approached the door to Craig's home, "Hello?" she slowly stepped inside to see the figure of a little girl standing at the top of the stairs.

"I've lost my mum, I don't know where she is. Please can you help me?"

"Help you? You poor thing, what's happened?" she headed up the stairs.

The girl just headed into the flat, "Can you help me find her?"

The woman followed her in...only to scream moments later...

~8~

The game was over, with Craig's team winning the match with much thanks to the Doctor. He, the team, and a few friends were gathered around a bench, having some beers, "You are _so_ on the team!" Sean cheered to the Doctor, "Next week we've got the Crown and Anchor, we'll annihilate them!"

"No violence," the Doctor stepped up to him, serious, "Not while I'm around, especially not when Angel's here, not today, not ever. I'm the Doctor, the Oncoming Storm...and you meant beat them in a football match, didn't you?"

"Yeah…" Sean leaned away from him.

The Doctor grinned, "Lovely, what sort of time?"

"Doctor," Angel called, pressing a hand to her head and stumbling back as Craig opened a can and it spilled over him. Everyone laughed but then it happened again, over and over, involving everyone save the Doctor and Angel. He took her arm and led her away a bit, seeing that the affect of the time distortion was much less with them away from the house but still seemed quite painful.

He tapped the comm., "Amy? Amy!"

"It's happening again!" Amy yelled as the TARDIS groaned and grated, "Worse!"

"The scanner..." Angel winced, rubbing her head, trying to keep her mind focused, "Does it say anything?"

"A lot of nines. Is it good that they're nines? Tell me it's good that they're all nines!"

"Yes…" the Doctor looked at Angel tensely, that was _not_ good at all, "Yes, it's...it's good! Zigzag plot...I mean the lever beside the zigzag plotter, Amy," there was a grunt and a thud as Amy was quite possibly thrown somewhere before she screamed, "Amy? Are you there?"

"Help!"

"Amy," Angel walked closer, resting her hand on the Doctor's shoulder to get close enough for Amy to hear her, "Amy listen to me, stroke the TARDIS."

"What?!"

"Just do it!"

A moment later Amy came back, "What now?"

"Just keep doing it," Angel told her, before taking a breath and stepping even closer, resting both her hands on the Doctor's shoulders, moving onto her tip toes to speak into the comm., not wanting to shout but needing her words to be calm and soft so she needed to make sure the TARDIS would hear her. She didn't even notice the Doctor stiffen beneath her hands when she began to speak softly in his ear, more to the TARDIS than him or Amy, "It's alright girl, calm down, we'll fix it, I promise. Cross my hearts. But you need to calm down or you'll make yourself sick…we'll sort it all out…"

She started to smile as the groaning and grating started to fade, the TARDIS listening to her and calming down...

And then she stiffened herself...feeling the Doctor start to move a hand around her waist, holding her there, and felt him rest his temple to hers, tilting his head ever so slightly so that the tip of his nose brushed on her cheek. She felt her breath hitch at the sensation, a rather...intimate gesture if she had to describe it. She managed to tilt her head a bit, seeing that his eyes were closed and swallowed, "Doctor?" she whispered, to him this time.

He opened his eyes and she immediately regretted saying anything as he practically leapt away from her, his eyes wide, his face turning a bright red, "Sorry!" he half-shouted, starting to stutter, "Sorry, I just...wanted to steady you?"

She frowned at how that sounded more like a question than anything.

The Doctor just shook his head fiercely, what was WRONG with him? Where had THAT come from? He honestly and truly had no idea why he'd done that, it was just...she was so close...and touching him...and whispering in his ear...he winced, she had been whispering to _the TARDIS_ , which reminded him, "Amy?" he called, desperate for something to get his mind off the fool he'd just made of himself.

Angel probably thought he was mad by now, if she didn't already. Why had he done that? It hadn't been his intention at all to do that, to make that sort of...gesture of closeness. He really _had_ been trying to steady her, knowing she was on her toes and that she wasn't quite coordinated and things just...got away from him...he'd closed his eyes to try and listen for the TARDIS noises like Angel could and...the next thing he knew...well, he was leaping away from her because of what he'd done.

"Yes, hello," Amy replied, completely unaware of the moment that had just happened.

"Ah, thank heavens," he sighed, turning slightly so as not to look directly at Angel, knowing his face was probably the same shade as a tomato at the moment, and trying his very best to NOT think aboug what had just happened, "I thought the TARDIS had been flung off into the Vortex with you inside it, lost forever."

"You mean that could actually happen!? You have got to get me out of here."

Angel shook her head, there were more important things to worry about right now than what was happening with the Doctor, though he would always be one of the most important things in her life Amy was truly in danger at that point, the nines were NOT good at all, "Did the numbers change at all?" Angel asked, getting back on task as she felt her headache fade as well.

"All fives."

"Fives?" the Doctor looked back to see the loop had ended, Sophie trying to help wipe Craig off, "Even better. Still, it means the effect's almost unbelievably powerful and dangerous, but don't worry," he grinned at Angel, "Now we know that can work at a distance. So Amy, just hang on, ok? I've got some rewiring to do."

"Hey! You...'hang on!?'"

But he just cut the comm. and headed back to the team, Angel following with a cautious and confused look, really very confused by what had just happened.

~8~

Craig walked down the hall from his bedroom to the Doctor and Angel's, knocking on the door. The Doctor opened it, an orange traffic cone under his arm, "Hello, flat mate," he grinned.

"Hey, man," Craig said quietly, "Listen, Sophie's coming round tonight and I was wondering if you could give us some space?"

"Oh, don't mind us. You won't even know we're here," there was another loud bang upstairs and the Doctor looked up, "That's the idea," he closed the door and Craig stood there, listening, confused, "Yes, perfect! What a beauty!"

"Doctor," Angel sighed, "I don't think that's what Craig meant."

"What do you mean?" the Doctor asked.

Craig had to laugh, he could almost imagine Angel shaking her head at him.

~8~

Sophie and Craig were sitting on the sofa in the sitting room, looking at the stain, "That's got bigger," Sophie remarked.

"Oh, yeah."

"Are we going out?" she turned back to him.

"I've had a bit of a weird day, can we do pizza-booze-telly?"

"Great, love it! Wait," she shut off her mobile, "No Melina, no crises, no interruptions."

"Great. Excellent. Um, Soph...I've...I think..."

"Where's this going?"

"I think that we...should..."

Sophie nodded, waiting for him to finish when…

"Hello!" the Doctor popped up from behind the sofa.

"Doctor!" Angel grumbled, walking into the room, just a bit huffy, irritated that he'd gotten away from her. She'd been fine for the last few hours but the last two, well the mood swings were definitely catching on, she was an irritable mess right now, "Do I need to put a leash on you! I told you to stay in the room!"

"What?" Craig looked at them, startled.

"Whoops, sorry, don't worry, I wasn't listening, in a world of my own down there," the Doctor smiled.

"I thought you were going out?" Craig frowned.

"Just reconnecting all the electrics, it's a real mess. Where's the on switch for this?" he held up an ordinary screwdriver.

"We really _are_ on our way out," Angel cut in, with an apologetic smile, she'd managed to convince him to leave Sophie and Craig alone for the night but it didn't look like it was going to happen now.

"No, I don't mind, if you don't mind," Sophie looked at Craig.

"I don't mind, why would I mind?" Craig asked, clearly upset and trying to cover it.

"Then stay, have a drink with us," Sophie smiled at the duo, not seeming to notice Craig's thoughts.

"What, do we have to stay now?" the Doctor asked.

"Do you want to stay?" Craig sighed.

"I don't mind," he looked over his shoulder, "Angel?"

She sighed, "Might as well," she wasn't about to leave him in the house alone or alone with that 'man' upstairs.

"Ok!" Sophie smiled.

"Great!" Craig grumbled.

~8~

The Doctor was sitting on an armchair, working, with the eclectic wires around his neck, while Sophie and Craig sat on the sofa, Angel cross-legged on the floor once more, finding the position comfortable, eating a bit of pizza with some mustard on it, just listening to the conversation going on around her.

"'Cos life can seem pointless," Sophie remarked as she sipped her wine, "Work, weekend, work, weekend. And there's six billion people on the planet doing pretty much the same."

"Six billion people?" the Doctor mumbled, looking at her and Craig, "Watching you two at work, I'm starting to wonder where they all come from."

Angel gave a small smile, her hand dropping down beneath the table to rest on her stomach.

"What? What do you mean by that?"

"So, the call center. That's no good?"

"What would you rather be doing Sophie?" Angel asked, sensing that there was something more to Sophie's depression over work.

"Don't laugh," Sophie began, "I only ever told Craig about it. I want to work looking after animals. Maybe abroad? I saw this orangutan sanctuary on telly."

"So why don't you?" Angel smiled, looking over at her.

"She can't," Craig said, "You need loads of qualifications."

"Yeah, true," Sophie agreed, "Plus it's scary, everyone I know lives round here. Craig got offered a job in London, better money, didn't take it."

"What's wrong with staying here? I can't see the point of London."

"Well, perhaps that's you, then," the Doctor suggested, "Perhaps you'll just have to stay here, secure and a little bit miserable, until the day you drop. Better than trying and failing, eh?"

"You think I'd _fail_?" Sophie gaped.

"Everybody's got dreams, Sophie, very few are going to achieve them, so why pretend?" he sipped his own glass of wine, making a face and spitting it back into the glass, Angel chuckling a bit at that, she hadn't even tried the wine. It seemed set in every species she'd ever heard of that alcohol and pregnancy were NOT paired together and she was not taking any risks, "Perhaps, in the whole Universe, a call center is where you should be?"

"Why are you saying that? That's horrible."

"Is it true?" Angel smiled at her.

"Of course it's not true. I'm not staying in a call center all my life, I can do anything I want!" the Doctor smiled along with Angel as Sophie's eyes widened, realizing what they'd done, "Oh! Yeah! Right!" she fist bumped him and turned to Craig, "Oh, my God! Did you see what they just did?"

"No, what's happening?" Craig looked over, "Are you going to live with monkeys now?"

"It's a big old world, Sophie," the Doctor said, "Work out what's really keeping you here, eh?"

"I don't know," she shook her head, "Dunno."

~8~

Craig escorted Sophie to the door, "So, are you going to be taking off then, seeing the world?"

"What? Do you think I should?"

"Yeah...like the Doctor says, what's keeping you here?"

"Yeah, exactly! What? Bye."

"See you," he hugged her, sad that HE wasn't the 'what' that would keep her there, "See you in a bit."

"Yeah," she gave him a smile before leaving.

~8~

The Doctor stood at the edge of the bedroom with Angel, looking at the large, ungainly device he'd created from bits and pieces of random items. She had to feel thankful that she'd slept the other night, she wasn't tired at the moment and that was good...because the bed had been torn apart to make a base for the device.

The Doctor ducked out of the way as it began to spin, stepping back, "Right," he tapped the comm., "Shield's up. Let's scan!"

"What are you getting?" Amy called.

"Upstairs," the Doctor read off a digital clock, "No traces of high technology. Totally normal. No, no, no, no, it _can't_ be! It's _too_ normal."

"Only for you could too normal be a problem. You said I could be lost forever. Just go upstairs."

"But we don't know what's up there Amy," Angel sighed, " _I'm_ not even sure what's up there," she hadn't gotten a vision or anything. It was like with all the time distortions, time itself was difficult to see, "We can't risk getting hurt otherwise we won't be able to stop it."

"Then you really _are_ lost," he added, "If I could just get a look in there...hold on," he stopped the device spinning, "Use the data bank, get me the plans of this building, its history, the layout, everything. Meanwhile, I shall recruit a spy," he grinned.

~8~

Craig was clearing up after Sophie left and looked up at the ceiling of the sitting room. Curious he stepped onto a chair and reached out for the stain but stopped, "The Rotmeister..." he scoffed before touching it and receiving a shock, "Ah! Ow!" he pulled his hand away and quickly stepped down shaking his hand and walking away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww, did you love the little 'sweet dreams' scene ^-^ Or how about that moment in the park ;) We're probably going to see more memory-flashes in this episode than the others mostly because the Doctor is spending so much time with just him and Angel, it's going to affect him :)


	38. The Lodger: Upstairs

Angel walked down the hall of Craig's house, unable to really call it 'her' house, even if she and the Doctor were renting it. She truly couldn't picture calling any other place but the TARDIS home, even being with Torchwood she hadn't been able to call the Hub that or any of the places they'd stayed. No, the TARDIS was it for her, it really was the only place she felt...normal. It was ironic how humans reacted to the TARDIS, how they felt it was alien when, to her, Earth was alien, all their little houses and flats and automobiles and planes, the TARDIS was just...familiar, it really was home. And truly she had probably spent more time in TARDISes on Gallifrey than in her actual house so it was even more of a home in that sense as well. But, as far as houses went, this one was a lovely one, cozy and, as the Doctor had said, done with excellent taste, at least to her. Craig was very lucky to live there.

And speaking of Craig, she looked down at the breakfast tray she was carrying in her hands, careful not to tip anything. She had wanted to make the man breakfast as she got the impression that he hadn't exactly been thrilled with the direction his night had gone. And she knew, because Craig had mentioned it during their talks only hours ago, that today was a big meeting at the call center where he was hoping to pitch his idea on how to help the company. He'd need a big breakfast to get him through the day, he was a growing boy after all...that was the expression wasn't it? Well, she supposed to her all humans were still growing, they kept aging didn't they? That was growing to her. And...compared to her and the Doctor...they really were very young and she'd always felt the need to look out for them.

Perhaps that was why she'd always developed a sort of familial relationship with the Doctor's companions, like it gave her more of an excuse to fret about them and take care of them. She hadn't gotten to do much of that on Gallifrey, her younger sister had been doted on by their father and had ended up taking care of HER more than the other way around. It was nice to be the 'sister' again, or as Jack liked to call her 'the sister from another mister' which always made her laugh to hear. Though now...given what she knew of her abilities and how early her glimpses of the future had started to happen (like how she'd brought up the Library way back when they'd travelled with Rose), she was starting to wonder if it wasn't sisterly love she felt for the companions but...maternal love? It didn't quite sit right with her, that thought, she didn't look at them like her children, definitely her siblings, but...it did make her wonder if there wasn't some sort of...foreshadowing to her pregnancy in how much she worried about them and how well she came to understand and comfort them...like she was always meant to be a mother in a way, even if she hadn't consciously ever thought about being one.

She was distracted from her thoughts, however, when the Doctor, who had gone with her, knocked on Craig's door, "Craig! Craig? Angel's made breakfast! Jam and onion scones with tea! It's normal and quite delicious," he winked at Angel, having tasted her concoction earlier and nearly eaten Craig's portion as well, "Craig?"

"Doctor..." Angel began, starting to stiffen, a pit forming in her stomach, "Something's wrong..."

The Doctor glanced at her for only a moment before he quickly pushed the door open, "Craig!" he gasped, seeing Craig lying prone on his bed. He rushed over as Angel put the tray down but grabbed the teapot and ran back out of the room, not having a clue what she was doing but going with what her instincts were telling her.

He knelt by Craig and grabbed his arm, looking at the large, dark streak running up along Craig's veins, "Craig, Angel told you not to touch it! You should always listen to a psychic, always, always, always! 'What's that? An unfamiliar and obviously poisonous substance. Oh, I know what would be really clever, I'll stick my hand in it!' Come on, Craig, breathe," he pounded on Craig's chest, making the man gasp and start to breathe again, "Come on, Craig, breathe! Thems are healthy footballer's lungs!" he got up, about to run out, when Angel ran back in with the teapot, stuffed _full_ of teabags.

"Will this help?" she asked, handing it over, not knowing why but everything inside her was shouting at her that the man needed tea.

"Yes!" the Doctor cheered, taking it from her, "Reverse the enzyme decay. Excite the tannin molecules!" he turned and knelt back by the bed, making Craig drink the tea via the spout while Angel knelt on the other side of the bed, holding the man's hand.

They both breathed a sigh of relief as Craig started to come around.

Angel smiled, "Tea always does the trick doesn't it," she gave a soft laugh, "Just what he needed! A good cup of tea!" she shook her head, recalling a moment where another man had needed tea badly, "Superheated infusion of free radicals and tannin," she nearly recited, not seeing the Doctor look at her for it as she watched Craig.

~oOo~

_"Tea! That's all I needed! A good cup of tea! Superheated infusion of free radicals and tannin. Just the thing for healing the synapses..."_

_"You should've let Angel help," Mickey muttered to Rose, thinking about all that tea Angel had been trying to give him._

_He turned around, looking for the missing Time Lady, only to see her standing behind him seemingly just barely managing not to cry. He frowned and walked over to her, completely ignoring the aliens anf humans around him at seeing that, "Hey, you alright?"_

_She swallowed hard, "Better."_

_"What's wrong?" he reached out to touch her but she stepped back._

_"One third of the Earth is being controlled by them," she took a breath, "Deal with them first…or second," she added, smiling just a bit._

_He nodded and spun around, "She's right, first things first..." he walked over to Rose, wanting to give Angel a moment to gather herself, "Be honest. How do I look?"_

~oOo~

"I've got to go to work," Craig said hoarsely, pulling the Doctor's attention back to him.

"On no account," he shook his head, "You need rest. One more."

Craig drank the super-tea as the Doctor tilted the teapot once more, "It's the planning meeting, it's important."

"Not more important than YOU," Angel squeezed his hand, reaching out to run her hand through the man's hair in comfort, her mother always did that when she was ill, "You'll be just fine, Craig but you need to sleep," Craig nodded drowsily before falling asleep. She looked up at the Doctor, frowning when she saw him eyeing her hand in Craig's hair and pouting.

~oOo~

_"There could be a backup system?" Angel reached out and slowly started smoothing his hair again, seeing him about to rip a wire out of the back of the computer. She smiled, seeing him calming. Her mother used to do that to her when she was upset, run her fingers through her hair, it seemed to be just as soothing to him._

_He, though, blushed faintly, while his irritation was calming, her work with his hair was doing anything but. He could feel his hearts starting to speed up, his head tingling, a shiver running down his back. There was something oddly intimate about having someone play with your hair, especially your Mate. He did his best to keep his focus on the computer and bite back the soft groan that was threatening to escape..._

_Not even noticing Angel's smile turn into a small smirk, as though she knew exactly what sort of affect her ministrations were having on him._

~oOo~

"Doctor?" Angel called, pulling her hand away from Craig's head as the Doctor's head snapped up to her, "You should go to the meeting, I'll keep an eye on him."

So distracted was he by the odd sensations of jealousy he'd felt flash through him at seeing Angel being so gentle with Craig, that he just nodded and slipped out of the room, not even realizing he was agreeing to leave Angel basically alone in the house with the man upstairs...

~8~

Craig rolled over to see it was 2:45 in the afternoon and jumped up in a panic, not even noticing Angel sleeping, hunched over, at the side of his bed, having watched him dutifully the last few hours, "What?! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" he ran around the room, getting ready before rushing out of the house.

~8~

Craig ran down the hallway of the call center and into the main office, "Oh, afternoon," his boss greeted, not seeming angry at all with his tardiness.

"I'm _so_ sorry, Michael," he breathed, "I don't know what happened, I've got no excuse."

The Doctor popped up from ducking under the desk behind Michael and Craig, a headset on his head as he spoke to a customer, "I think that's not what my screen is telling me, Mr. Lang."

"What's he doing here? What are _you_ doing here?"

"If that's your attitude, Mr. Lang, please take your custom elsewhere," and just to finish it off, he blew a raspberry.

"No, no, no, that's one of my best clients!"

"Craig, how are you feeling?" the Doctor looked up at him, his smile growing a bit tense as he stiffened, "Where's Angel?"

~oOo~

_"Where are they?" he rushed over, "Where's Angel and Martha?" he reached out and grabbed Tallulah by the shoulders, shaking her, "Tallulah where is she?!"_

_"I don't know," Tallulah gasped, "They ran off the stage."_

_Suddenly there was a scream and a shout of "Doctor!" from down the hall._

_He turned and rushed off, his hearts beating madly, that had been Angel's voice shouting just then. He ran to the prop room, shoving the door open, but it was empty, "Angel!" he called, looking around, "Martha!" he looked down, seeing the sewer lid crooked, recently opened and not entirely shut. And he knew...they had been taken back down by the pig men. He grabbed his coat and put it on, not about to let the creatures get very far with his Mate if he could help it._

~oOo~

"Craig where is she?" he demanded, startling Craig a bit with the slight snap in his voice.

"Uh…" Craig blinked, "I think she fell asleep."

"Ah," he nodded, feeling a bit more relieved, not much, now that Angel was alone with the man upstairs, but...the man didn't come downstairs, not at all, so if Angel was asleep down stairs, she'd be fine, "Well I had some time to kill, I was curious, never worked in an office. Never worked in anywhere. And Angel told me to come here," he smiled, "Always listen to Angel Craig, it just might save your life one day. Saved mine more than once and..."

"You're insane!" Craig cut in.

"Leave off the Doctor, I love the Doctor," Michael smiled, "He was brilliant in the planning meeting."

" _You_ went to the planning meeting?" Craig turned to him.

"Yes. I was your representative. We don't need Mr. Lang any more. Rude Mr. Lang."

Sophie walked over with tea and biscuits, "Here you go, and I found some custard creams!"

"Sophie, my hero," he smiled at her, taking the plate, "Mmm," he hummed, "I should save one for Angel," he remarked, setting one aside, "She'd love a custard cream."

Sophie smiled at his thoughtfulness when she noticed Craig, "Hi, Craig! I went on the web, applied for a wildlife charity thing. They said I could always start as a volunteer straight away. Should I do it?"

"Yeah, great, yeah, good, go for it," Craig muttered.

"You look awful," the Doctor told him, "About turn! Bed. Now. Wake up Angel so she can keep an eye on you," well, that was one part of it, but it was more a two-fold reason for his order, waking up Angel would mean she could warn the man if there was danger coming, and...she'd be awake and aware and not left alone in the house with the man upstairs, "Now, who next?" he typed a keyboard, "Oh, yes," he tapped his headset as Sophie walked away and Michael waved goodbye, leaving Craig no option but to head for the door in frustration, "Hello, Mr. Joergensen. Can you hold? I have to eat a biscuit," he looked over at the door and watched Craig leave before glancing at Sophie's reaction, the woman watching him go.

~8~

Craig went through a drawer in the sitting room and pulled out a spare set of keys, heading for the Doctor and Angel's bedroom and unlocking it, stopping short when he saw the device still spinning, "What the hell?!"

~8~

The Doctor entered the foyer to see a cat coming down the stairs and meow at him, "Have you been upstairs?" he looked at it as it meowed a deep throaty meow again, "Yes?"

~8~

Craig threw darts in the sitting room to vent his frustrations, when he heard the Doctor in the front hall, "You can do it. Show me what's up there? What's behind that door? Try to show me...Oi! No need to hiss! It's not my fault I'm not Angel...yes, yes, I understand you like her better than humans, lots of animals do really, I like her better than others too. But she's not here and she's trying to help me so if you could..." he trailed off a moment as a cat meowed, "Oh, that doesn't make sense! Ever see anyone go up there? Lots of people? Good, good," he peered through the peephole to see the Doctor on the stairs, petting and talking to a cat, "What kind of people? People who never come back down. That's very bad," he opened the door and stormed out, "Oh, hello."

"I can't take this anymore. I want you to go!" he turned and entered the flat as the Doctor followed before shoving the paper bag with the money to him, "You can have this back an' all."

"What have I done?"

"For a start, talking to a cat."

The Doctor threw the bag over his shoulder, "Lots of people talk to cats. Angel talked to it just last night and..."

"Everybody loves you..."

"No, everyone loves Angel."

"You're better at football than me," Craig continued as though the Doctor hadn't interrupted, "And my job, and now Sophie's all 'Oh, monkeys, monkeys!' and then..." he opened the door to the Doctor's room, "There's that!"

The Doctor rushed over to stand before the device, "It's art! A statement on modern society, 'Oh, ain't modern society awful?'" he stopped it spinning.

"Me and you, it's not gonna work out. You've been here three days, the three weirdest days of my life."

"Your days will get a lot weirder if I go!"

"I thought it was good weird, but it's not, it's bad weird! I can't do this anymore!"

"I can't leave this place. I'm like you, I can't see the point of anywhere else. Madrid, ha, what a dump! I have to _stay_."

"No, you don't, you have to _leave_!"

"I can't go!"

"Just get out!"

"What's going on?" Angel called, walking down the hall from where she'd been rudely awakened, still sleeping kneeling on the floor in Craig's room, the man having not woken her when he came home like the Doctor had told him to.

The Doctor took the chance as Craig was distracted and grabbed him by the lapels, "Right! Only way! I'm going to show you something, but shh, really, shh! Oh, I don't need to be you Angel to know I am going to regret this. Ok, right...first, general background!" he head butted Craig, both of them grabbing their heads in pain as Craig saw the Doctor's past incarnations and some of his adventures and a few snippets of Angel's faces as well.

He gaped at the Doctor, pointing, "You're a..."

"Yes."

And Craig pointed at Angel, "You're both…"

"Yeah," she smiled at him, knowing what the Doctor had done. It was a crude form of information exchange, there were subtler methods but only when one really knew the topic at hand in enough detail to send a large enough chunk of it to someone else. The head-butt method was more for when you needed to convey a sensation, like urgency, and the reason behind it.

"From..." he pointed up.

"Shh," the Doctor whispered.

"You've got a _TARDIS_!"

"Yes. Shh!" he gestured at his face, "Eleventh! Right...ok, specific detail!" he head butted him again, filling Craig in on the reason he and Angel were there.

"You saw my ad in the paper shop window!"

"Yes, this was stuck above it," Angel pulled out a note from Amy to show him, her handwriting directing them to Craig.

"Which is odd, because Amy hasn't written it yet," the Doctor added, "Time travel, it CAN happen."

"That's a scanner!" Craig pointed at the device, "You used non-technological technology of Lammasteen!"

The Doctor quickly put a hand over Craig's mouth, "Shut up!"

~8~

Sophie entered the foyer and used her key on the door of the flat, about to walk in, when a little girl appeared at the top of the stairs, "Please can you help me?"

"Hi?" Sophie called up.

"Please. Will you help me?"

"What's the matter, my love?" she headed up the stairs, "Help you?" she followed her into the flat.

~8~

"Argh!" the Doctor rubbed his forehead, "I am never, ever doing that ever, ever again..." he tapped the earpiece, "Amy!"

"That's Amy Pond!" Craig pointed again.

"Oh, of course, you can understand us _now_ , hurrah," he mumbled, "Got those plans yet?"

"Still searching for them!" she replied.

"I've worked it out with psychic help from a cat."

"Cat?"

"Yes, I know he's got a time engine in the flat upstairs..."

"Seriously?" Angel's eyes widened at that bit of information.

The Doctor nodded, "He's using innocent people to try and launch it. Whenever he does, they get burnt up, hence the stain..."

"From the ceiling?" Craig stared.

"Well done, Craig. And you, Miss Pond, nearly get thrown off into the Vortex."

"Lovely!" Amy sighed.

"Ah!" Angel collapsed, gripping her head as a loud crash came from above, and they all knew what that meant, the pounding in her head...it was just like when Mickey and the others had used the little teleport buttons, the time engine was malfunctioning, it was distorting time all around it and when that happened...Angel felt it more profoundly than he did.

"People are dying up there?" Craig's eyes widened, before getting caught in the loop, "People are dying. People are dying."

"Amy!" Angel yelled as Amy screamed, the Doctor rushing to her side as she tried to get up and stumbled, steadying her.

"They're being killed!" Craig finished.

"Doctor!" Angel gasped, grabbing his arm, knowing why the pit in her stomach was twisting painfully, "I think someone's up there!"

The Doctor's eyes widened and he ran out of the room followed by Craig, Angel struggling after them, up the stairs, "Doctor!" Amy cut in.

"Hang on!" he waved her off. Craig stopped halfway up, seeing Sophie's keys in the lock to the flat, "Craig, come on...someone's dying up there."

"It's Sophie!" Craig gasped, "It's Sophie that's dying up there, it's Sophie!" they ran up to the door.

"Doctor!" Amy tried again, "Stop!"

"Where's Sophie?" Craig called as they struggled against the door.

"What is it Amy?" Angel ground out, her hand pressed to her temple, trying to relieve the pressure building there the nearer they got to the time engine.

"Are you upstairs?" she panted.

"Just going in!" the Doctor told her.

"But you _can't_ be upstairs."

"Of course we can be upstairs!"

"Come on!" Craig pushed the door.

"No!" Amy shouted, "I've got the plans, you cannot be upstairs, it's a one-story building. There _is no_ upstairs!"

The Doctor and Craig looked down the stairs, "It doesn't matter," Angel panted, tears in her eyes at the sharp pain in her head, "We need to help Sophie."

The men nodded before the Doctor used the sonic to enter the flat. The room was a hollow, though advanced, spaceship. It had a control panel at its center with small terminals around it with an orb in the center of each, "What..." Craig stared.

"What?" the Doctor nodded as they walked in, "Oh. Oh, of course! The time engine isn't IN the flat, the time engine IS the flat!"

"It looks like..." Angel swallowed as she leaned heavily on the door frame, shaking, "It looks like someone tried to build a TARDIS."

"No, there's always been an upstairs," Craig shook his head.

"Has there?" the Doctor looked at him, "Think about it!"

"Yes. No. I don't..."

"Perception filter. It's more than a disguise. It tricks your memory."

Sophie screamed as she was pulled into the room from a shadowy corner, towards the controls, by an electrical energy, "Sophie!" Craig yelled as he and the Doctor ran to her, Angel jolting forward, wanting to help, but only making it to a nearby beam, leaning heavily against it as she grabbing her head with one hand, "Sophie! Oh, my God, Sophie!" he grabbed her hand to keep her from touching the glowing orb.

"It's controlling her," Angel shouted, her other hand dropping to her stomach, it was twisting painfully now that the controls had started to try and pull Sophie in, she was praying it was just her reaction to the temporal technology going wonky and not something that would harm the baby, "It needs her to...touch the activator!"

"It's not going to have her!"

The Doctor used the sonic on the panel but Sophie still touched it and screamed, "Ah! Deadlock seal!"

"You've got to do something!" Craig shouted.

Angel bit her lip hard, taking a breath and lunching forward, falling to her knees beside the base of the control panel, putting her hands on either side of it as a golden energy leapt into it, short circuiting it, letting her go. Angel breathed a sigh of relief as the pounding in her head stopped, leaving her to sit back, half-hunched over, panting as the pain eased slightly, while Craig caught Sophie and gently lowered her to the ground.

"Oh thank God," he mumbled, holding her.

The Doctor looked around and spotted a dried up skeleton, the last attempt, just as a hologram of an old man appeared, "You will help me."

"Right!" the Doctor nodded, "Stop! Crashed ship, let's see. Hello, I'm Captain Troy Handsome of International Rescue. Please state the nature of your emergency."

"The ship has crashed. The crew are dead. A pilot is required."

"You're the emergency crash program. A hologram. You've been luring people up here so you can try them out," he flashed the sonic at it and the hologram changed to a little girl, then a younger man, and back to the old man.

"You will help me. You will help me. You will help me."

"Craig!" Sophie gasped as she woke up, "Where am I?"

"Hush!" the Doctor hissed as Angel moved to Sophie's side as well, wanting to make sure she was ok, "Human brains aren't strong enough, they just burn. You're stupid, aren't you? You just keep trying."

"17 people have been tried," the hologram stated, "6,000,400,026 remain."

Angel reached out and helped Sophie stand as the woman looked around, "Seriously, what is going on?"

"Oh, for goodness sake," the Doctor spun around, "The top floor of Craig's building is, in reality, an alien spaceship intent on slaughtering the population of this planet. Any questions? No? Good."

"Yes, I have questions!"

"The correct pilot has now been found," the image added.

"Yes, I was worried you'd say that," the Doctor mumbled.

"He means you, Doctor, doesn't he?" Amy asked over the comm..

Tendrils of energy reached out from another panel and began to pull the Doctor towards it, "The correct pilot has been found. The correct pilot has been found."

"What's happening?" Amy called as the TARDIS began to shake again, Angel gasping and falling to the side, leaning heavily on the beam again, the pain was even worse this time as the Doctor was actively managing to fight the program and it was trying harder to get him.

"It's pulling me in!" the Doctor tried to resist, "I'm the new pilot!"

"Could you do it? Could you fly the ship safely?"

"No, I'm way too much for this ship. My hand touches that panel, the planet doesn't blow up, the whole solar system does," Angel bit her lip again and turned, holding out her hand as it glowed gold, ready to short-circuit the controls again, when the Doctor noticed and called out, "No don't! They're rerouting all the power to this panel, blow it up and it takes the ship and us with it!" he groaned, stopping his hand an inch above the panel as Angel had to lower her hand to grab her head, wincing at the pain shooting through it.

"The correct pilot has been found," the program repeated.

"No...worst choice ever, I promise you. Stop this!"

"Doctor!" Amy screamed as the grinding sounded up, "It's getting worse."

"It didn't want Craig," Angel realized with a gasp, turning to Craig, "Craig, why didn't it try to take you?"

"I spoke to him and he said I couldn't help him!" Craig frowned.

"And it didn't want Sophie either, before," Angel added, thinking quickly, her mind racing with her pain and how she wanted it to stop, as the Doctor groaned, too distracted by his struggle with the program to work it out, "But now she wants to go to the monkeys!" she looked at the Doctor, "If it's programmed to leave, it needs a pilot who wants the same! Craig..." she turned to him, "You've never wanted to leave!"

"Angel!" Amy shouted.

"Craig, please...you can stop the program! Just put your hand on that orb thing and think about why you stay here!"

"Craig, no!" Sophie stared in horror.

"Will it work?" Craig needed to know.

"Yes!" the Doctor grunted as he strained, able to tell that Angel did have a point in her words, oh she was just brilliant!

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Is that a lie?"

"Of course, it's a lie, I'm not Angel!"

"It's good enough for me. Geronimo!" Craig slapped his hand down onto the panel and screamed as the energy coursed through him but released the Doctor.

"Craig!" Sophie gasped.

"Craig," Angel ran to him, the pain in her head still there, but lessening as the program began to shut down, putting her hands on his face, "Why are you still here? Think about every single thing that you stay here for! Why don't you want to leave?"

"Sophie!" he admitted, "And I don't want to leave Sophie! I can't leave Sophie! I love Sophie!"

"I love you too, Craig, you idiot!" Sophie stepped forward and put her hand on the panel with Craig's, making the ship smoke and spark and Angel jump back at it.

"Angel!" Amy shouted, "What's going on?!"

"Honestly, do you mean that?" Craig looked at Sophie.

"Of course I mean it! Do you mean it?"

"I've always meant it. Seriously though, do you mean it?"

"Yes."

"But what about the monkeys?"

"Oh, not now, not again!" the Doctor huffed as he picked himself of the ground, "Craig, the planet's about to burn! For God's sake, kiss the girl!"

"Kiss the girl!" Amy and Angel agreed.

Craig and Sophie kissed, their hands sliding off the panel.

"Doctor!" Amy breathed as the sound of the TARDIS soothed, "You've done it. Ah ha, you've done it! Oh, now the screen's just zeros! Now it's minus ones, minus twos, minus threes...big yes!"

The hologram cycle suddenly began shifting quickly, "Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me."

Angel stared at it, alarmed, "That's not good is it?"

"Big no!" the Doctor agreed.

"Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me."

"Did we switch it off?" Craig looked up.

"Emergency shutdown, it's imploding, everybody out, out, out!" the Doctor shouted, ushering them out of the room, pushing Angel ahead of him.

"Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me."

They ran out of the ship, followed by the Doctor, and outside, watching the house as it shook. A moment later the filter shut off to reveal the ship which disappeared a second after, people just strolling, nothing out of the ordinary.

"Look at them," Craig shook his head, "Didn't they see that? The whole top floor just vanished."

"Perception filter," the Doctor replied, "There never was a top floor."

Angel let out a breath, feeling the pain in her head stop, though she still felt a bit strained, "You'd be surprised just how much you won't notice something if you don't want to see it," she murmured, glancing at the Doctor, her arms subtly wrapping around her stomach, appearing to the others as though she were just queasy after what happened.

~8~

The stain on the ceiling disappeared though Craig and Sophie didn't much notice, far too interested in kissing each other on the sofa of the sitting room, "So have we spoiled our friendship, then?" Craig smiled at her.

"Totally ruined it."

"And what about the monkeys? We could save them together, you know. Do whatever we want. I could see the point of Paris if you were there with me."

"First let's destroy our friendship completely."

They continued to kiss as the Doctor entered the room about to speak...when a hand quickly put itself over his mouth, Angel quietly pulling him back. He pulled her hand off a moment later, patting her hand before letting go, smiling at the couple as he turned, leaving his keys on the small table by the door, heading for it.

"Oi!" Craig laughed as he and Sophie walked over to them.

"What, you're trying to sneak off?" Sophie smiled.

"Yes, well, you were sort of...busy," the Doctor said.

Craig picked up the keys and handed them back to the Doctor, "I want you to keep these. Thank you."

"Thank you," the Doctor took them, "'Cos we might pop back soon, have another little stay."

"Angel maybe," Craig laughed, "But you? Nah," he shook his head, "I've been in your head, remember? But I still want you to keep them."

"Thank you, Craig."

"Thank you, Doctor."

"Sophie," Angel smiled, hugging the girl.

"Good luck," Sophie whispered to her, squeezing her extra tight. They were in the same boat, loving someone who didn't seem to notice, she could tell Angel was sweet on the Doctor, their small veiled words in the park had confirmed that to her. And the glances she saw Angel give him, the girl was so gone about him, but the Doctor seemed oblivious both to that and his own feelings for her. She could only hope for as happy an ending for Angel as she had for herself.

"Now then," the Doctor looked at them, "6,000,400,026 people in the world. That's the number to beat."

Sophie nodded, "Yeah."

The Doctor left with a smile, Angel with a little wave, but both very happy that they had been able to help.

~8~

The Doctor set the TARDIS in motion as Angel stood, stroking the rotor, seeming to silently be speaking to the TARDIS about the ordeal she'd been through with just her gestures, "Back in time!" the Doctor smiled, looking at Amy as he tossed his jacket on the jump seat, "You need to go to the paper shop, leave that note for us."

"Right little matchmaker, aren't you?" Amy teased, "Can't you find me a fella?"

Angel frowned and looked at the controls, for all Amy's seeming remembrance of Rory, she knew the girl likely didn't remember him in full, but it still hurt to hear Amy make remarks about finding a man, knowing the girl already had, "There's something wrong with the rectifier..." she murmured, heading to a different section of the control room to check on it.

"Hold on," the Doctor turned to Amy, "You write the note and I'll change that will and Angel will give the TARDIS a check up."

"You got a pen?" Amy called.

"Make sure it's a red pen!" the Doctor nodded as he headed away to work on changing the will. Amy searched the Doctor's jacket pockets for a pen, only to pull out a small box with an engagement ring in it. She opened it and stared at the ring with a frown, feeling the small bit of gold and diamond were too familiar to just ignore.

~8~

Amy blinked a bit as sunlight hit her eyes when she'd opened a door in the TARDIS. She'd been trying to find Angel, wanting to ask her about that time engine thing the Doctor and her had found in Craig's flat, how someone had seemed to try and build a TARDIS, wanting to know if that was even possible. She really found the box amazing and she had always wanted to know more about it, even as a little girl, how a swimming pool could be in the library and other things, how it worked, how it existed, how someone could build one...so she'd asked the TARDIS to take her to Angel like the Doctor had instructed her her very first time in the box.

It had led her here, to what looked like a garden. There was a false blue sky, with white clouds, green grass, a tree in the distance with a small bench and flowers just...everywhere. All sorts, of all colors...she could understand now why the Doctor had been so obsessed with getting flowers for Angel to add to the garden now, it was remarkable! And, squinting against the false sunlight, she could see the Time Lady in question kneeling by the edge of one of the flowery sections, small pots of...something beside her. The closer she got the more clearly she could see that it was sunflowers in the pots. She looked around, seeing that there weren't any other sunflowers there but the ones in the pot, it seemed like Angel was adding them to her collection.

"Hey," she greeted as she approached.

Angel looked up at her and smiled, "Hello Amy."

"What are you doing?" she asked, moving to sit beside Angel, her back to the flowers but facing out, able to see Angel as she looked to the side.

"I thought I should add these to the garden," Angel picked up one of the pots and pulled the sunflower from it, placing it gently into the hole she'd dug, "I hadn't had sunflowers here before, didn't really like them, but I think it's time to add them."

"Why?" Amy frowned as Angel lightly moved the dirt around the hole again, "I mean, if you don't like them, why add them?"

Angel looked at the one she'd just planted thoughtfully, reaching out to touch the petals of it, "It was something Vincent said, about how they were half living, half dead and...it reminded me of someone."

"You know a zombie?" Amy stared at her.

Angel laughed, "No, I meant that..." she sighed, "The Doctor and I...we've lost people in the past, we try our best to keep everyone safe but..." she frowned, "Sometimes, people get hurt, and sometimes...sometimes they die," and sometimes they died and were erased from time, "But they always live on, in our memories," she added, looking at Amy intently as the woman grew thoughtful at her words, "If you can remember someone, then they're never gone, they're always with you in spirit. If their memory is alive, it's like they live on even after they've gone."

Amy blinked, shaking her head from her thoughts, and looked back at Angel, "So who'd you lose?"

Angel sighed, she'd been so hoping that mentioning the incident with Rory might help, "One of my companions," she told her, turning back to work, "He was just...brilliant, as brilliant as the sunflowers, and I wanted to honor him," she smiled, if she kept the sunflowers in the garden, kept them alive, it would be like Rory was alive in some way too. Half-there, half-gone, but still somewhere close to her hearts.

Amy nodded, "Sorry," she murmured, feeling guilty for having brought that up, she couldn't imagine how terrible it must have been for Angel to lose her companion, probably happened just before she and the Doctor had landed in her backyard, it HAD looked like they'd just come from a fight or something. And it was great of the woman to remember him in such a way.

"Me too," Angel smiled sadly, Amy falling silent as she put the last of the sunflowers in their spots, "There," she nodded, happy with her work as she stood, brushing off her hands and picking up a small watering can, sprinkling the flowers with the water, "I'll take care of you," she whispered to the flowers, touching the petals, "I'll NEVER forget you."

Amy stood as well, watching Angel set the watering can to the side and turn back to her, "Now what did you want to ask me?"

Amy blinked, "I wasn't..." Angel gave her a look and she sighed, "Right, psychic," she muttered, "I just...I wanted to ask about the TARDIS...you said someone was trying to build a TARDIS..."

"I did," she nodded, "No wonder it wasn't working, TARDISes are grown not built."

Amy blinked again, "Really?"

Angel laughed, looking at Amy a moment, "You know what...how would you like me to teach you how to pilot the TARDIS? I could tell you more about her and how they work along the way?"

"I would love that!" Amy cheered beaming, "I really don't want to get stuck in the TARDIS again and have to rely on the Doctor shouting 'Zig Zag Plotter Amy!' as a guide for what to do."

Angel nodded, that was completely understandable, and linked her arm with Amy's, "Well then, no time to lose!" she cheered, leading Amy out of the garden, ready to begin her favorite lesson to give all the companions.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked the little garden moment, yay! Sunflowers for Rory! :) I know there wasn't much Thella moments in this chapter, but with Sophie's life being in danger and then the Doctor's own life, it was hard to write him focusing on Angel instead when things were so dangerous for others :( But we had a hint of jealousy in the Doctor with how Angel was helping Craig, and 3(!) memory-flashes! :)
> 
> Too bad River Song is next }:)


	39. The Pandorica Opens: Stonehenge

Vincent Van Gogh's tormented cries echoed out into the night as he laid on his sofa, gripping his head in pain with his one hand curled around his short red hair, his other hand clenched in a fist, pressed against his temple. His doctor, Gachet, knelt at his side, trying to quiet him. Madame Vernet, his housekeeper, was there as well, "Vincent, can you hear me?" Gachet called, placing a gentle hand on the man's shoulder, trying to snap him out of his latest bout of agony, "Please, Vincent!"

"It's not enough he goes drinking all round the town," Vernet remarked, not seeming at all affected by the man's screams, "Now the whole neighborhood has to listen to his screaming."

"He's very ill, Madame Vernet!" Gachet snapped, completely disgusted by the woman's lack of concern and empathy. He seemed to be one of the few who realized that Vincent was truly ill and suffering, that it wasn't just an imaginary pain he felt.

"Look at this," she held up a painting, "Even worse than his usual rubbish," Gachet stood and went to look at the painting, "What's it supposed to be?"

Gachet shook his head, returning to Vincent's side as his screams turned to sobs, reaching out to put a hand on the man's arm...only for Vincent to grab his hand, holding it tightly. He swallowed hard, squeezing the man's hand back, placing his other hand on top of Vincent's, wishing he could take the man's pain away, but sadly...all he could do was hold the man's hand as he suffered.

~8~

A man in a white lab coat strolled down the corridor, a wrapped parcel under his arm. He entered an office and went straight over to Winston Churchill as the man sat behind his desk, "It was found behind the wall in an attic in France," Bracewell held up the painting and showed it to him, "It's genuine...it's a Van Gogh..."

"Why bring it to me?" Winston asked, shaking his head, puffing on his cigar.

"Because it's obviously a message...and you can see who it's for," he turned the painting around to show him what was on the canvas.

Winston stared at it a long while before sighing, "Can't say I understand it."

"You're not supposed to understand it, Prime Minister. You're supposed to _deliver_ it."

~8~

A phone on the wall of Stormcage rang and a lone guard crossed the corridor to answer it, "Cell 426," he listened a moment before looking at a cell where River Song was sitting, reading from a dark blue book, "The Doctor? Do you mean Dr. Song?"

River stood quickly and turned to grab the bars with both hands, her eyes wide, "Give me that!" she reached out a hand but the man hesitated, "Seriously, just give it to me. I'm entitled to phone calls," the guard walked over and handed her the phone, "Doctor?"

"No, and neither are you," Winston replied, "Where is he?"

"You're phoning the Time Vortex, it doesn't always work. But the TARDIS is smart, it's rerouted the call. Talk quickly. This connection will last less than a minute…" she turned away from the guard, listening intently to the instructions Winston Churchill was leaving her.

"Dr. Song?" the guard called as she nodded and lowered the phone, "Are you finished with that?"

River reached into her shirt and pulled a tube of something out, the guard unable to see as her back was to him. He frowned, waiting till she turned back and handed him the phone, "You're new here, aren't you?" she eyed him.

"First day," he nodded, not even noticing the lipstick she was wearing even as she drew closer.

"Then I'm very sorry," she smirked, before pulling him towards the bars and kissing him.

~8~

Alarms were blaring through the prison as guards ran down the hall, stopping outside River's cell. The new guard was inside, his gun aimed at something, "Stay exactly where you are," another guard called to him.

"She had the lipstick, the hallucinogenic lipstick," he replied, "She tried to use it on me!" the guards looked at each other, puzzled, as the guard wiped his lips and smiled, "Your tricks don't work in here, Dr. Song!"

Little did he know that he was aiming his gun at a stick figure River had drawn on the wall, the real River nowhere to be found.

~8~

River stealthily moved along the hallway of the Royal Collection at night, carefully eyeing all the paintings and portraits around her. Some of the paintings were falling from their frames while other frames were just completely empty. She turned her torch on a particular painting and stopped when she saw it, when she saw what it was a painting of. She yanked it from the frame and headed back up a set of stairs, rolling it up as she went. Halfway up though, the lights came on and a woman at the top, dressed in a red cloak, held her gun at her.

"This is the Royal Collection," Liz 10 said, "And I'm the bloody Queen. What are _you_ doing here River Song?" she asked, a hard note in her voice as she recognized the woman standing before her. She was the bloody Queen, there wasn't much she didn't know about the people important to her reign and her family's history, the Doctor and Angel were LARGE parts of both, of course she knew who this woman was, what she'd do.

She cocked her gun, "I asked you a question," she stared at her, narrowing her eyes.

"It's about the Doctor, Ma'am," River held up her hands, "You met him once, didn't you? I know he came here."

"With the Angel," Liz added, her lips pursing as she saw River's own eyes narrow at the mention of the girl.

River swallowed tensely, "They're _both_ in trouble. I need to find him... _them_."

"Then why are you stealing a painting?" Liz eyed her suspiciously, no one who knew who Angel was trusted River Song, not at all, not given the way the woman treated her.

"Look at it," she handed the Queen the painting, "I need to find the Doctor, and I need to show him this. Him and Angel," she admitted.

Liz looked at the painting in alarm, finally lowering her gun.

~8~

River sat in a bar across from a very large, very blue, humanoid, bald man, a salesman if ever there was one, "Now, word on the Belt is, you're looking for time travel," he remarked.

"Are you selling?" she asked.

He snapped his finger and an alien came forward with a box, "A Vortex Manipulator, fresh off the wrist of a handsome Time Agent," he opened the box and sighed, "I said OFF the wrist," the alien scuffled away with the box to fix the mistake, "Not cheap, Dr. Song. Have you brought me a pretty toy?"

River took off one of her jeweled earrings, "This is a Calisto Pulse. It can disarm micro-explosives from up to 20 feet."

"What kind of micro-explosives?" he asked, sipping his drink.

"The kind I just put in your wine," she smirked as the man stiffened, having already swallowed his sip.

~8~

Amy sat in the harness under the console floor, looking at the engagement ring in the box she'd found. Just...staring at it intently, she hadn't been able to let go of the box since she found it in the Doctor's coat pocket. Every time she tried to bring it up, ask the Doctor why he had the box, she just...froze up, because she knew that it belonged to the Doctor (why else would it be in his pocket) and that he'd likely take it away if she showed him she had it...and she didn't want that. For some reason...she couldn't give up that ring.

She pulled it out and had just started to slip it onto her finger...

"You alright Amy?" Angel asked.

Amy gasped and quickly put her hand down, hiding the box and the ring behind her, "Fine!"

"Are you sure?" she eyed her intently, a knowing look in her eyes.

Amy said nothing for a few moments before frowning, knowing better than to argue with the psychic or lie to her, and even if she tried, even if she somehow managed to lie successfully to Angel...the TARDIS would likely rat her out to the girl. Angel always seemed to have a way of understanding the box when it hummed, "Have…have you ever felt like you've forgotten something really important? Like there's a great big thing in your head, and you feel like you should remember it, but you can't?"

Angel smiled at her sadly, knowing exactly what she was forgetting, "No," she shook her head, "But I've been the thing forgotten."

Amy frowned, "What?"

Angel shifted, crossing her arms as she bit her lip, hesitant to say anything more. It had just sort of...slipped out. She and Amy...their relationship had gotten better, between bonding over the last few trips and the lessons on how to pilot the TARDIS...or at least HELP pilot the TARDIS (she'd learned VERY early on that Amy should NOT be allowed to pilot the old box on her own...at all...ever. And the Doctor had been worried about Donna leaving dents in the 1980s!)...they'd grown closer, their relationship had gotten closer. And this Amy...she had to admit, she'd been a bit afraid that, with Rory gone, Amy would go right back to how she'd felt for the Doctor before, obsessed and attracted to him, but this Amy...this Amy was different. It was like...she knew, deep down, that she belonged with someone else now and that the Doctor was just a very good friend. It put her mind at ease SO MUCH to know that Amy felt that way for him now. It was one less woman she had to worry about.

And Amy...she looked genuinely concerned for her at the moment. She'd told Rory what had happened, or at least she'd agreed to tell him, had been prepared to tell him...and Amy was going to be Rory's wife at one point...it wouldn't have been fair to tell Rory but not tell Amy or ask him to keep it from his wife after they'd been married. And, maybe, Amy could help her. She really did need someone to talk to about this. She'd run some scans after coming back from Craig's, she'd been so afraid that the baby would have been hurt by all the time distortion, but it was ok, for now, but she was starting to feel overwhelmed. It was like...she knew something big was coming, something bad, and...it was getting to her.

She didn't want to tell her family about it, they'd all settled into their lives on Earth and she didn't want to drag them back into the life of a time traveller just because of her. No. And if she told them, she knew they'd constantly worry about her, not being there, not knowing if she was ok...but Amy was there, Amy would still be there, with her, so...maybe she could help her.

She took a breath, opening her mouth to answer...

When the Doctor suddenly poked his head down from above the console's glass floor with a cry of, "Vavoom!"

"Va-what?" Amy shook her head, looking up at him.

The Doctor beamed and pushed himself up, running around the console, flicking switches as Angel sighed, shaking her head, before waving Amy's questioning gaze off, turning to head up the stairs, Amy following, the two of them joining him at the controls.

"I can't believe I've never thought of this before," he spun around in circles in his excitement, hitting various controls, "It's genius. Right! Landed, come on," he turned and raced to the doors.

"Where are we?"

"Planet One?" Angel frowned, seeing the coordinates on the monitor.

The Doctor spun around as he reached the doors and pointed at her, "The oldest planet in the Universe. There's a cliff of pure diamond and, according to legend, on the cliff there's writing, letters 50 feet high, a message from the dawn of time, and no one knows what it says, 'cos no one's ever translated it. Till today."

"What happens today?" Amy started to smile as Angel walked over to join them by the doors.

He tapped Amy's nose, "Us."

Angel blinked, starting to nod, "You want to use the TARDIS translation circuits to find out what the message is?"

He beamed, tapping her on the nose as well, making her go cross-eyed and him laugh at that, "Correctamundo!"

He blinked...

~oOo~

_"See? Compressed information. Tons of it."_

_"That is..." Angel squinted at the images racing by, "The history of London," she guessed, though she sounded a bit more certain that just guessing, him putting on his specs to examine it as well, "1066 to now."_

_He beamed, "Correctamundo!" he cheered, seeing that it WAS 1066 to the present day, oh he loved that about Angel._

_She had been right, in the Crucible, she DID seem to have a natural affinity with time. She was always guessing the date, the year, even the time left for something, LONG before she'd taken in the Vortex. She'd done the same since he'd met her, guessed the date when they took Adam on his first trip, guessed how long before the Dalek fleet invaded the Game Station, and you know what, she hadn't been wrong yet. And that was just brilliant, SHE was brilliant._

_"Thought you hoped to never say that again," Angel smiled up at him, the blush back on her cheeks having heard his praises in his mind._

_"For you," he took her hand, kissing the back of it, "I'd say anything."_

~oOo~

He shook his head, seeing Amy staring at him, "All we have to do is open the doors and read the very first words in recorded history," he grinned widely and opened the doors, stepping out onto a tropical planet with a huge cliff face.

Angel sighed, her smile dropping at the words 'Hello Sweetie' with Greek looking symbols underneath it.

Amy chuckled, realizing who'd written the note, "Vavoom!"

~8~

The TARDIS appeared on a hill, the Doctor, Angel, and Amy coming out of it, "Right place?" Amy glanced at them.

"Just...followed the coordinates on the cliff face," Angel sighed, _not_ looking forward to this at all.

She hated to admit it, she really did, but she didn't want to see River Song. And it wasn't even because of River's personality or how she often treated her, coldly and shortly, River had apologized for that in the Library, she'd apologized for everything she would do to her. Or at least that was something she interpreted about River's apology, that it was about how she acted around her. So it wasn't that...

It was how she felt about herself every time River was involved. Every time she saw River...it just made her doubt herself all the more. This incarnation of herself, it had started out so... _confident_ , but every time River came along...it was like the woman's mere presence just chipped away at that, made her feel like she was just someone standing at the sidelines, unable to contribute anything. And she hated that, she didn't want to feel that way, she didn't want to let it affect her like that. She tried, she tried to help but...River _was_ smart and brave and resourceful and skilled and so many other things she wasn't.

And every time the Doctor encountered River, he seemed that much closer to her, that much more intrigued by her, that much more noticing of the woman where as he barely noticed her at first. She didn't know how this would go, how it would affect the Doctor to see River again. He HAD seemed to notice her more, to be more...affectionate...around her, but...how would that be with River in the picture too? She had promised, she would be ok if the Doctor didn't remember her...and that had to mean if he chose River in the long run too. She dreaded that, she knew it would kill her if he did...but she had to worry about the baby at the moment, not the Doctor, not River, not the two of them...just her and the baby.

And she knew that River being there...it would just make her feel worse about herself no matter how much she tried to ignore it.

"Earth," she continued, shaking herself from her thoughts, "Britain."

The Doctor looked at his watch, "1:02am. No, pm."

"AD."

Amy's stared as they looked out over a large Roman encampment, "That's a Roman Legion."

"Well, yeah," the Doctor nodded, "The Romans invaded Britain several times during this period..."

"Oh, I know," Amy smiled, looking at Angel, "My favorite topic at school. Invasion of the hot Italians," Angel laughed, recalling their talks about what sort of students they'd been in school, "Yeah, I did get marked down for the title."

A breathless Roman soldier ran up to them, saluting with a bow and fist to his chest, "Hail, Caesar!" he dropped to his knees.

"Hi…" the Doctor eyed him.

"Welcome to Britain. We are honored by your presence."

"Well, you're only human. Arise...Roman person."

"Why does he think you're Caesar?" Amy asked quietly.

The soldier stood up and they could see there was a smudge of lipstick on his face, "Cleopatra will see you now."

He turned and led them down to the encampment, Angel hesitating before following, watching the Doctor and Amy go for a moment. Her hand rested on her stomach, she knew the history of Caesar and Cleopatra, the romance they'd had, the child that had been conceived...she swallowed, hoping that this wasn't one of River's spoilers...that she was subtly trying to hint that she and the Doctor would have THAT sort of relationship, that, one day, River would bear his child.

That hurt. That hurt more than any word River could say to her, because she knew that life with the Doctor was hell, it was terror and running and danger and NOT at all the right place or the safest place to be pregnant. Every single second with the Doctor was dangerous in her current predicament, every moment was just another one where she might lose the baby. If River was in Stormcage, she'd be safe, she'd be protected and her baby would be just fine. She didn't have that luxury.

She closed her eyes, feeling like the most terrible person in the Universe that she was actually hoping River was NOT nor would she EVER have the Doctor's child. Because if River had one with him...and she lost her own...she shook her head, she did NOT want to think about that at all. Worrying about the future, she'd promised not to, so she wouldn't, because she could already feel the tears gathering in her eyes at the mere thought and given her emotional state, she wouldn't be able to stop crying if she started.

"Angel?" Amy called, pausing to look back when Angel didn't follow.

"Coming," she took a breath and headed after them.

They followed the Roman soldier through a row of tents and into one in particular where River, dressed as Cleopatra, was sitting, being waited on by two servants, "Hello, sweetie," she grinned at the Doctor.

"River," Amy gave a little wave, "Hi," River nodded at Amy, steadfastly ignoring Angel.

"You graffitied the oldest cliff face in the Universe," the Doctor chastised.

"You wouldn't answer your phone," she countered, clapping her hands for the servants to leave before she turned and held out a roll of canvas to him.

"What's this?"

"It's a painting. Your friend Vincent," he grabbed it from her hands and unrolled it as she stood, "One of his final works. He had visions, didn't he?" she glanced at Angel, "Your doing I assume?"

Angel frowned, "I didn't do anything."

Or at least she didn't think she had. No...no she hadn't. She'd only tried to give Vincent a bit of comfort, nothing on the level of giving him visions. She hadn't done this...had she?

River rolled her eyes and looked back at the Doctor, "I thought you ought to know about this one."

"Doctor?" Amy asked cautiously, seeing him freeze and Angel walk over to his side, both of them starting to look at it in horror, "Angel, what is this?"

The Doctor put the painting down on a desk to reveal it was a depiction of the TARDIS exploding.

~8~

_The Doctor, Amy, River, and Angel rode on four horses across a field, River now in a pair of tan pants and a white jacket._

~8~

Angel stood on one side of the desk, looking at the painting with Amy, while the Doctor and River stood on the other side, "Why's it exploding?" Amy asked.

"I assume it's some kind of warning," River sighed as the Doctor turned and sat down heavily, his thoughts worried.

"Something's going to happen to the TARDIS?"

"It might not be that literal. Anyway this is where he wanted you. Date and map reference on the door sign, see?"

"Does it have a title?" the Doctor wondered.

"'The Pandorica Opens,'" Angel breathed, looking at it.

"Yes," River replied tersely.

~8~

_"Come on!" the Doctor urged his horse faster, "YA!"_

~8~

"The Pandorica?" Amy frowned, "What is it?"

"A box," River answered, "A cage. A prison. It was built to contain the most feared thing in all the Universe."

The Doctor got up and began pacing, "And it's a fairytale, a legend. It _can't_ be real."

"If it is real, it's here and it's opening. And it's got something to do with your TARDIS exploding," the Doctor turned and pulled out a pile of local maps, "Hidden, obviously. Buried for centuries. You won't find it on a map."

"No. But if you buried the most dangerous thing in the Universe, you'd want to remember where you put it."

"We don't need those," Angel said and they looked up at her, watching as she just stared at the painting a moment longer before finally looking at them, "I think I know where it is."

The Doctor nodded and River called for horses to be brought.

~8~

_They rode quickly, Angel leading them straight to Stonehenge._

~8~

The Doctor soniced some of the stones lying on the ground of the ancient location while River took out a scanner and did the same, bringing up information, Angel just wandering around, through the stones, getting a sense of the area, "How come it's not new?" Amy wondered.

"Because it's already old," River guessed, "Been here thousands of years. No one knows exactly how long."

"Since 2,545 BC," Angel said, her hand resting on a stone as she looked up at it. She glanced at Amy, "Makes it 2,647 years old already."

Amy smiled at her and looked around and back at River, pausing when she saw that River seemed irritated with Angel's knowledge, she herself had gotten used to Angel's knowledge of time, it was just...something she did, she couldn't help being good at it just like the Doctor couldn't help being brilliant, "Ok," she called, pulling River's attention to her instead, "This Pandorica thing. Last time we saw you, you warned us about it, after we climbed out of the _Byzantium_."

"Spoilers!" River held a finger to her lips.

"No, but you told us you'd see us again when the Pandorica opens."

"Maybe I did. But I haven't yet. But I will have. Doctor," she turned to him as her scanner beeped, "I'm picking up fry particles everywhere. Energy weapons discharged on this site."

The Doctor looked over at her, only for his gaze to be pulled past her, to Angel as the Time Lady looked over at a large flat stone in the middle of the circle, far too intently for him to overlook. He walked over and stepped onto it, "If the Pandorica is here, it contains the mightiest warrior in history. Now, half the galaxy would want a piece of that. Maybe even fight over it," he jumped off and put his ear against it, "We need to get down there."

~8~

River placed a device on the corner of the large stone the Doctor had been standing on, lights set up all around them in the darkness, "Right then," she walked over to where he was standing by Angel and Amy, "Ready?" she pressed a button on her scanner and the rock slid to the side, revealing stone steps were hidden there. The Doctor stepped closer to it as River took a torch from her pocket and turned it on.

"The underhenge," he whispered, taking out his sonic and using it as a torch as they entered.

He stepped out of a narrow passageway along with River. Angel walked over to a wall and picked up a torch, looking at it intently before she placed her hand at the base of one end of it, concentrating until a spark of gold jumped out of her finger tips and into it, a fire lighting on the end of it. She smiled at Amy, who picked up another torch and lit it off hers, the two of them moving over to a large set of double doors with a large bar across it, holding the torches up for the Doctor to see. He lifted up the large board acting as a lock across them and looked at River, the two of them pushing the doors open to find themselves in a cavernous room, with a large box with an intricate circular pattern on each side in the back of it.

"It's the Pandorica," the Doctor's eyes widened as Angel stiffened.

She recognized it now. That box...it was what she'd seen when Prisoner Zero had just been caught by the Atraxi. She'd seen the crack in the _Byzantium_ , she'd seen that box...and now...now she was terrified of what the other aliens she'd seen could be. If the Pandorica was real, if the Pandorica, something that should be a myth, was real...what were those aliens? What would THEY do?

"More than just a fairytale," River nodded.

They started forward, Angel walking right up to it and looking at it while the Doctor stopped, spotting the arm of a Cyberman lying on the ground. He shook his head and walked over beside Angel, "Don't touch it," she whispered to him.

But he didn't listen, resting his hand against it, too lost in his thoughts to be aware she had even spoken, "There was a goblin, or a trickster, or a warrior. A nameless, terrible thing, soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies. The most feared being in all the cosmos. And nothing could stop it, or hold it, or reason with it. One day it would just drop out of the sky and tear down your world."

"How did it end up in there?" Amy wondered.

"You know fairytales. A good wizard tricked it."

He walked around to the other side of it as River looked around with her scanner, "I hate good wizards in fairytales," she murmured, "They always turn out to be _him_."

Amy smiled, "And I suppose that makes you the fairy godmother, Angel?" she called with a laugh.

"I'd rather the guardian angel," she agreed with a small smile, following the Doctor around the box with her torch so he could see.

Amy looked at the box a moment before commenting, "So it's kind of like Pandora's Box, then? Almost the same name."

"Sorry, what?" the Doctor glanced at her as he came around from the back.

"The story. Pandora's Box, with all the worst things in the world in it," the Doctor turned and used the sonic on the box, "That was my favorite book when I was a kid," he stopped and made his way over to her, concern etched on his face, "What's wrong?"

"Your favorite school topic, your favorite story. Never ignore a coincidence, unless you're busy. In which case, always ignore a coincidence," and he walked back to the Pandorica.

"So can you open it?" River asked.

"Easily. Anyone can break INTO a prison, but I'd rather know what I'm going to find first."

"It's already opening," Angel remarked as she stared at the box intently.

River's eyes widened and looked at her scanner, aiming it at the box, "She's right…there are layers and layers of security protocols in there, and they're being disabled, one by one. Like it's being unlocked from the inside."

"How long do we have?" the Doctor looked over.

"Hours, if we're lucky," Angel answered just as River opened her mouth, though the Time Lady couldn't see, her back to River as she stood slightly behind her.

"What kind of security?" the Doctor turned to Angel, knowing, from her remark, that not even calling her his good luck charm would help them, the situation was that serious.

"Everything," River cut in quickly, making him look back at her, "Deadlocks, time-stops, matter-lines."

"What could need all that?"

"What could get past all that?"

"Think of the fear that went into making this box. What could inspire that level of fear?"

Angel winced, closing her eyes and rubbing her head.

'… _you pricked the side of a mighty beast, Madam Kovarian, and entirely failed to run_ …'

'… _hope in this endless, bitter war_ …'

'… _you make them so afraid_ …'

"Hello, you, have we met?" the Doctor continued, not noticing Angel shake her head and look at him with a small, concerned frown, that vision...it hadn't sounded good at all.

"So why would it start to open _now_?" River wondered.

"No idea."

"Hmm, and how could Vincent have known about it?" Amy added, "He won't even be born for centuries."

The Doctor pulled out his sonic and used it but this time on the stone pillars around them, "The stones! These stones are great big transmitters, broadcasting a warning to everyone, everywhere, to every time zone. The Pandorica is opening!"

"Doctor...everyone, everywhere?" River's eyes widened more.

"Even poor Vincent heard it in his dreams. What's in there, what could justify all this?"

Angel closed her eyes, a terrible pit forming in her stomach...

"Doctor, everyone?"

"Anything that powerful, I'd know about it. Why don't I know?"

"Doctor, you said everyone could hear it. So who else is coming?"

"Oh…"

"Oh?" Amy eyed him as he stiffened, "Oh, what?"

"Remember how you met the Daleks, Amy?" Angel turned to her, the pit growing even more, "They aren't the only enemies we have."

River turned and held her scanner against a pillar, "Ok, if it is basically a transmitter, we should be able to fold back the signal."

"Doing it," the Doctor soniced the pillars.

"Doing what?" Amy called.

"Stonehenge is transmitting, it's been transmitting for a while...so who heard?" River remarked.

"Ok, should be feeding back to you now," the Doctor looked over at River as Angel looked down, starting to breathe heavily, the pit starting to twist in her stomach, "River, what's out there? Getting anything?"

"Give me a moment."

"River, quickly, anything?"

"Everyone," Angel blinked.

River gaped at her readings, "Around this planet, there are at least 10,000 starships."

"At least?" Amy's breathed.

"10,000, 100,000, 1 million, I don't know. There's too many readings."

"What kind of starships?" the Doctor called.

And then...a Dalek transmission came through, "Maintaining orbit."

"I obey," a second stated, "Shield cover compromised on ion sectors."

"Daleks," Amy remarked, "Those are Daleks."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, River... :( Nothing quite too bad or biting here...but we still have 5 more chapters to go }:) But next chapter we get Rory! ^-^ I really hope you all love the reunion moment between him and Angel, it made me tear up a little writing it :')
> 
> Poor Angel though, she came SO close to telling Amy! Oh Doctor, you have the worst timing! Lol :)


	40. The Pandorica Opens: The Pandorica

"Scan detects no temporal activity," one of the Daleks called to the others.

Angel let out a breath of relief at that, nearly slumping with it actually, that meant the Daleks hadn't detected the TARDIS, they didn't know they were there...thank God.

"Soft grid scan commencing," another Dalek reported.

"Reverse thrust for compensatory stabilization."

"Daleks, Doctor," River looked at him.

"Launch preliminary armaments protocol."

"Yes, ok," he nodded, starting to pace, feeling his hearts starting to race at the sound of the Daleks. He closed his eyes, unable to help but think of the last time they'd encountered the aliens, the danger he'd led Angel into, how they'd used a little Jammie Dodger to keep the Daleks at bay, how he'd held her close and enjoyed it...

He stopped a moment, shaking his head, now was _not_ the time for such thoughts...and he didn't enjoy it, it was just...nice...but still not the time! So he began to pace again, "Ok, ok, ok. Dalek fleet. Minimum, 12,000 battleships, armed to the teeth. But we've got surprise on our side! They'll never expect three people to attack 12,000 Dalek battleships, 'cos we'd be killed...instantly. So it would be a fairly short surprise. Forget surprise."

"Doctor, Cyber-Ships," River added.

"No, _Dalek_ ships, listen to them, those are Dalek ships."

"Yes. Dalek ships AND Cyber-Ships."

Angel closed her eyes at that, knowing that was likely only the beginning.

"Well, we need to start a fight, turn them on each other. It's the Daleks...they're SO cross..."

"Sontaran. Four battle fleets."

"Sontarans! Talk about cross, who stole all their handbags?" he chuckled nervously, seeing the list growing.

Angel started shaking her head, already knowing who was out there and started trembling. Amy looked at her, alarmed, and quickly put an arm around her. She was scared herself at the sheer number of enemies River was describing, and she didn't even recognize half of them.

"Terileptil," River called, "Slitheen. Chelonian. Nestene. Drahvin. Sycorax. Haemo-goth..." the Doctor started backing up in shock, "Zygon. Atraxi. Draconian. They're all here. For the Pandorica."

He hit the Pandorica and looked back at it, "What are you?"

Angel opened her eyes and looked at the Pandorica, her face pale, swallowing hard, the pit in her stomach twisting even more. She knew how this would end, and it would not end well, not at all.

As though hearing her thoughts, the ground started to shake and the Doctor ran up the stairs and outside, the three women following him, to see the sky lit up with a number of different ships flying above them, "What do we do?" Amy stared at the ships in slight fright and awe.

"Doctor, listen to me!" River turned to him, "Everything that ever hated you is coming here, tonight. You can't win this. You can't even fight it. Not even Angel would be able to turn them away!"

Angel looked over at River, mildly shocked that River had actually said something almost...nice...about her...

"She was useless when the Sontarans attacked, completely failed to stop them poisoning the Earth, remember?"

Angel closed her eyes and shook her head, should have expected that.

But the Doctor though just stared at River a moment as though he hadn't just heard her dig against Angel, a small confused frown on his face, when had Angel negotiated with the Sontarans?

~oOo~

_"The woman of peace, just what we need on the brink of war," he reached out and touched her cheek, "Go on, I know you can do it."_

_She frowned, "But...I've never negotiated anything before, and...you don't usually tend to let me talk to the aliens trying to kill us..."_

_"Well," he had to wince a bit at that, he'd noticed he did tend to pull her back from facing their enemies often, not so much now with Donna there, an extra pair of eyes to help him, but still, as he said to Mace, he didn't like people with guns pointed at her, "We're safe for now, on Earth, in UNIT, while they're on their ship. I think it's safe enough for you to talk to them now."_

_She shifted, "What if I muck things up?" she asked in a small voice._

_"You won't."_

_"But what if I do?"_

_He smiled, "You won't."_

_"But what if I DO?"_

_He laughed, "I can see that family resemblance shining through now," he told her, making her smile at the reference to Donna, "Ah, there it is, little bit of a smile," he tapped her chin with his hand, making her smile more, "Love that grin," he winked at her, "You just smile at them and I think they'll cave."_

_She laughed, "That's only YOU," she reminded him._

_"Fair point," he nodded, "But you really will do fine, I believe in you."_

~oOo~

The Doctor blinked quickly, shaking his head, what...what was _that_? When had _that_ happened? He...he wasn't quite sure what it was, it was like a _blur_ really...but...he saw Angel, standing before the monitors of UNIT, about to speak to the Sontarans...and HE was there too...why had he done that? Not that he thought Angel wouldn't have been a help in the situation but...no, the better question was...why hadn't he remembered that? How had RIVER known about that moment and HE hadn't? Granted, he'd admitted that parts of his past, when he looked back on them, were...fuzzy...but _this_? It was like a glimpse of an entirely foreign memory...

Had it even happened? Or was he just imagining it because River had said it? What if the event River was talking about hadn't even happened? Yes, the Sontarans HAD poisoned the Earth once before, but who was to say they wouldn't try again?

He shook his head again, no, no, that...that had to be what River meant, it was something in the future. His mind was just playing tricks on him with that little...whatever it was...because that hadn't happened. He distinctly remembered talking to the Sontarans in UNIT, teasing them and mocking them and nearly starting an intergalactic war...yes, THAT sounded more like his last self.

"Doctor," River spoke, cutting into his thoughts and pulling his attention back to her, not seeing Angel stare at him with wide eyes, having seen both the memory in his mind and his fierce denial of it, "This once, just this one time, please, you have to run."

"Run where?" he countered.

"Fight how?"

"The greatest military machine in the history of the Universe!" the Doctor pulled out his binoculars and looked out in the distance.

"What is?" Amy looked at him, "The Daleks?"

"No, no, no. The Romans!"

~8~

River rode back to the encampment as fast as she could, walking back into her tent, wanting to slip back into her Cleopatra outfit for when she gathered the Romans...only to be blocked by two guards as their commander paced within, noticing her, "So, I return to my command after one week and discover we've been playing host to Cleopatra. Who's in Egypt. And dead!"

"Yes," she smiled, not at all worried about the man discovering her ruse, "Funny how things work out."

The ground shook as a ship flew overhead, "The sky is falling, and you make _jokes_. Who are you?"

"When you fight Barbarians, what must they think of you?" River wondered, eyeing the man.

"Oh, riddles now?"

"Where do they think you come from?"

He drew his sword, "A place more deadly and more powerful and more impatient than their tiny minds can imagine."

River simply rolled her eyes at his arrogance and pulled out her disintegrator gun, firing it at a cupboard, stunning the commander and the guards as it fell to ashes, "Where do _I_ come from? Your world has visitors. You're all Barbarians now."

"What is that?" the commander eyed her gun, "Tell me, what?"

"A fool would say the work of the gods. But you've been a soldier too long to believe there are gods watching over us. There is, however, a man…" her jaw tensed, "And a woman. And tonight they're going to need your help."

"Sir?" a soldier called from the back entrance, having stopped at River's words, "A woman, sir?"

"One moment," the commander walked over to the soldier, whispering quietly to the man cloaked in shadow before looking back at River, "Well, it seems you have a volunteer."

~8~

Amy lit a few more torches as the Doctor stood, looking intently at the Pandorica, Angel above to keep a lookout for River or their enemies. The Time Lady had insisted they go down below, citing that she would be able to sense the enemy coming and bring up the Vortex to protect herself and give her time to get back to them when the Doctor hesitated in agreeing to leave her above. Angel had seemed...quiet, to her, more quiet than she had been since coming back from Torchwood. She'd been quiet before, yeah, but after seeing her 'brother' Jack she'd gotten better, talked more, but now she was just...quiet again. To Amy though it just appeared like she needed a few moments alone to collect herself, so she'd literally dragged the Doctor back to the underhenge, knowing that, as soon as he saw the Pandorica again, he'd be focused on that too.

"So what's this got to do with the TARDIS?" she questioned.

"Nothing, as far as I know."

"What about Angel? Has she sensed anything?"

The Doctor hesitated, glancing back at the stairs that would lead up to Angel, it was...odd, he had to admit, that Angel hadn't seemed to sense anything like this when it involved the TARDIS, given how connected she was to it. But, psychics couldn't see everything, "No."

"But Vincent's painting...the TARDIS was exploding, is that going to happen?"

"One problem at a time Amy!" he nearly snapped, pulling his gaze back from the stairs and to the sonic as it beeped, "There's force field technology inside this box. If I can enhance the signal, I could extend it all over Stonehenge. Could buy us half an hour."

"What good is half an hour?"

"There are fruit flies live on Hoppledom 6 that live for 20 minutes...and they don't even Mate for life," he blinked, wondering exactly why he'd brought up some odd _Mating_ ritual at such a time, "There was going to be a point to that," he murmured, before shaking his head, "I'll get back to you."

Amy looked down and pulled the ring box from her pocket, "So...are you proposing to River?"

"I'm sorry?" he nearly shouted, spinning around with a hand on the center of his chest, wondering exactly WHY it HURT so much to hear her ask that question. His hearts felt like they had literally twisted inside his ribcage at the thought of that.

"I found this in your pocket," she held up the ring box, waving it around with a small smirk.

"No," he swallowed, feeling like it was a little hard to breathe at the moment, "No."

Amy eyed him a moment, he'd gone ten shades paler, "Then are you prosing to Angel?"

"No!" he shouted, his eyes wide, though Amy frowned, seeing that now...instead of paling, he was _blushing_ , "No, Angel's just a friend and that…" he nodded at the ring box, feeling his hearts restart...though they were beating quite a bit faster than before, "That's, uh...a memory. Another friend of mine, someone...someone Angel lost really."

Amy looked at the box and back at him, "Her companion?"

"She told you about him?" the Doctor straightened.

Amy nodded, "We DO talk Doctor, we ARE girls, different species, but still girls."

But he just pouted, blinking a bit at that, Angel hadn't really said two words to him about Rory other than that she had trouble sleeping since then, and implying she was hopeful he'd return somehow. But...she'd been quiet about the topic of Rory. It...hurt...a lot...to know she'd talked to AMY about the loss of her companion and not to HIM. He could empathize, he could help...so why hadn't she come to HIM?

He'd have to ask her, when this was all over, but for now he gently reached out to take the box but Amy turned away with it, "Do you mind?"

"It's weird," she looked at it closely, "I feel...I don't know. _Something_ …"

He eyed her a long while before speaking again, "People fall out of the world sometimes, but they always leave traces. Little things we can't quite account for. Faces in photographs, luggage, half eaten meals...rings... _nothing_ is ever forgotten, not completely..." he hesitated a moment, feeling something...wrong...about what he'd just said, before shaking his head, it was probably just his lingering concerns about the cracks in time and their effects, "And if something can be remembered, it can come back."

Amy quickly closed the box again and gave it back to him, "He was nice, you know, Angel's companion, from what she told me. He was a great man."

The Doctor just slipped the ring back in his pocket, nodding, still feeling stung that Angel had spoken to Amy before him, and headed back to the Pandorica to work on it, but stopped and looked at Amy, "Remember that night you flew away with me?"

"Of course I do."

"And you asked me why I was taking you and I told you there wasn't a reason. I was lying."

"What, so you _did_ have a reason?"

He nodded, "Two actually. Angel and your house."

"Angel?"

"She had a feeling about you Amy. You were important."

Amy blinked, surprised at that, but smiled at the thought, "And my house?"

"It was too big, too many empty rooms. Does it ever bother you, Amy, that your life doesn't make any sense?"

At that moment, a laser fired at them from the now activated Cyberman arm.

~8~

Angel winced, rubbing her temples as she sat on one of the rocks of Stonehenge as the Doctor disappeared down the steps to the underhenge with Amy. That was one thing she _didn't_ like about being pregnant, she seemed to get more headaches than normal. And, given how her visions could often cause headaches to start and having spent two years dying and plagued by headaches, that was the _last_ thing she wanted to deal with again. But it would be worth it, it had to be.

She looked up when she realized the pounding noise in her head was _also_ sounding outside her mind and turned to see a small group of Roman soldiers riding their horses towards the circle of rocks. She slowly stood up, her breath catching in her throat as she felt like something big...something GOOD...was about to happen...

And so she gasped when one of the men at the head of the group hopped off his horse and pulled his helmet off...

"Rory?" she breathed, staring at him in wide-eyed shock.

"Angel," he smiled, greeting her.

Angel just shook her head, like she couldn't believe what she was seeing, and slowly stepped towards him, Rory meeting her halfway. She swallowed hard, still staring at him, before she lifted her hand to poke his nose, "Is it really you?" she whispered.

He laughed, taking her hand instead, nodding, "It's really me."

Angel blinked a few times and he could see the tears in her eyes before she beamed and launched herself at him, hugging him tightly. He quickly wrapped his arms around her, lifting her up with a cheer and spinning her around in a tight hug, absolutely beaming when he heard her laugh at the sudden move.

...and then he seemed to remember _who_ he was holding and quickly set her back down, his own eyes wide and he took a small step back, "Oh my God, are you ok?" he looked down at her, putting his other hand lightly on her tiny bump, breathing a sigh of relief that he hadn't harmed the baby with his rather large hug.

"I missed you _so much_ ," Angel said quietly, leaning in to hug him once more, just as tight but without the spin.

He smiled, returning the hug, "I missed you too," he told her, resting his temple to her hair, "God I thought I was going mad with all those dreams about you and Amy and the Doctor..."

Angel let out a small chuckle, "I think the Doctor thought I was going mad when he walked in on me talking to your sunflower in the garden."

He blinked, giving her an odd look, "My sunflower?"

She nodded, shrugging with a hint of an embarrassed blush on her face, "I...I planted sunflowers for you, to remind me of you," she told him, "You...you were bright and brilliant and you made me smile, sunflowers seem to do that to me too now."

Rory started to smile at that, so touched that he meant so much to her that she'd honored his memory and planted a flower for him. Sure, loads of people left flowers at a grave and what not, but he wasn't dead, well...he HAD been, but it took more effort to keep a flower alive than to just cut it and leave it by a rock. And to hear that Angel talked to it at times, well...he still talked to his grandparents' picture that he kept framed in his room whenever he did something remarkable, like when he'd proposed to Amy, just to keep them in the loop. It meant the world to him to know that Angel still kept him in mind even as he'd been elsewhere.

"I'm glad I could cheer you up then, even as a flower," he started to chuckle...only for it to die down, seeing the tears in her eyes had grown sad, "Angel...what's wrong?" his eyes searched hers, "Has something else happened?"

Angel let out a little laugh at that, Rory had only been returned not even 5 minutes and he could already tell something was bothering her, when Amy and the Doctor had been around her for weeks and hadn't said anything to her.

And that was why her companion was the most remarkable man ever.

Well, him and Mickey.

She laughed at that too, Mickey the Magnificent and Remarkable Rory! The best companions she could have ever had.

"Angel?" Rory called again, starting to frown now when she didn't answer. She was doing that thing again, that smile you made when you didn't want someone else to worry. Well, she was his Pilot, she was also (as they'd claimed in Venice) his sister, it was his job as both her companion and 'brother' to worry about her.

"So much Rory, I don't even know where to start," she admitted. There was too much to go through. How he'd been erased from time, her adventures with Torchwood, Amy's own amnesia, the Doctor's amnesia, her fears about the baby, especially now with every single one of the Doctor's enemies in the sky just waiting to attack them all, and...River Song.

"The beginning's usually a good place," Rory nudged her gently.

"True," she agreed, before taking a breath...

Only to hear Amy and the Doctor shouting from the underhenge and the sound of lasers going off. She really was starting to develop the WORST timing wasn't she? But then again...the baby was the Doctor's, and he had the absolute worst in the Universe.

Oh she feared for the baby if it inherited the Doctor's sense of time.

"You men, with me!" Rory shouted to a few of his men as he dashed down the stairs to the underhenge, putting on his helmet and pulling out his sword as he went...

~8~

Amy screamed as she and the Doctor both hid on the opposite side of the Pandorica, "Ok, what was that?"

"Need a proper look," the Doctor tried to glance around the corner but a shot fired past him, making him duck back, "Got to draw its fire, give it a target."

"How?"

"You know how sometimes I have really brilliant ideas?"

"Yes..."

"Sorry!" he ran around the side, standing in the open with his arms out, "Look at me, I'm a target!" the laser fired again but the Doctor ducked behind a pillar.

"What is that?"

"Cyber-arm. Arm of a Cyberman."

"And what's a Cyberman?"

"Oh, sort of part man, part robot. The organic part must have died off years ago, now the robot part is looking for fresh meat."

"What, us?"

"It's just like being an organ donor, except you're alive...and sort of screaming. I need to get round behind it, could you draw its fire?"

"Like you did?" Amy gaped at him.

"You'll be fine if you're quick, it's only got one arm. Literally," he gave her two thumbs up.

Amy nervously returned the gesture before running, screaming, around the side of the box. The Cyber-arm fired at her but the Doctor leapt forward and grabbed it, using the sonic on it to disable it, "Doctor?" Amy panted.

"Scrambled its circuits, but stay where you are," he pointed the sonic at her warningly, "It could be bluffing."

"Bluffing? It's an _arm_!"

"I said stay where you are!" he stood and Amy angrily stepped back and crossed her arm...only to look down a moment later to see a wire wrapping around her legs.

"Doctor?!" she fell as she was yanked backwards.

"Amy!" he moved to help her...only for the arm to release a burst of energy causing him to collapse, unconscious.

"Doctor!"

The Cyberman's head was crawling on the ground towards her, pulling itself forward by the wires binding her wrists. As she fought it she lifted it and stared at it when the seam down the center of its face opened and a skull fell out. She screamed as the head started snapping at her, trying to get to her. She banged it against one of the stone pillars and stood up as it scuttled away.

"Doctor!" she turned to check on him when a small dart shot into her neck.

"You will be assimilated," the head stated.

"Yeah?" she glared at it, pulling the dart out, "You and whose body?"

Just then there was the sound of heavy footsteps.

Amy looked away from the head to see a metal body approaching, missing its head and left arm. It picked up the head and set it on its body before continuing after Amy. She grabbed a torch from the wall and swung it at the metal man but the drug from the dart was starting to take effect. She stumbled, her vision blurring, till she fell through a set of double doors, into what was a small storage area, and shut them behind her.

"Doctor!" she shouted as the Cyberman pounded on the door to get to her...and suddenly there was silence. She pressed her ear to the door, "Doctor?"

And a moment later a sword was thrust through the door before her, the door itself swinging open to reveal the Cyberman pinned to it, sparking, a Roman soldier standing there.

She could barely make out the Doctor on the ground, someone in blue kneeling by him through the haze that was her vision. She blinked blearily up at the soldier, unable to see him through the drug and the shadows he was standing in, "Who…who are you?"

The soldier removed his helmet and Rory smiled at her, "Hello, Amy," only for her to promptly faint, him quickly catching her, "Whoa, whoa!"

"Alright there Rory?" Angel called from where she was checking on the Doctor.

Rory nodded and carried Amy over to a small stone table, setting her down, not at all angry at Angel for not sensing the attack coming, he understood that she couldn't see everything and that she was clearly very upset and distracted by something. He knew having a lot on his mind often distracted him, to even Amy at times, he could only imagine how badly Angel had to be distracted in order for her to miss the attack on both the Doctor and Amy, it just made him all the more concerned. He smiled though as he looked at Amy, caressing her hair just as another soldier entered, "Sir, the man's coming round."

"Amy?!" the Doctor woke with a gasp, stumbling to his feet, "Where's Amy?" Angel pulled him towards the room and he ran in.

"She's fine, Doctor, just unconscious," Rory told him.

The Doctor moved to her side, "Ok," and checked her with the sonic to be safe, "Yes, she's sedated, that's all. Half an hour, she'll be fine," he looked at Rory, "Ok, Romans, good, I was just wishing for Romans, good old River," he shot a smile at Angel, turning back to Rory before he could see her not return it, "How many?"

"50 men up top," Rory remarked, frowning when he saw Angel look down at the mention of that woman, River, and he knew something about the woman must be bothering her, he'd have to ask her about it, "Volunteers. What about that thing?" he pointed at the Cyberman.

"50? Not exactly a legion."

"Your friend was very persuasive, but it's a tough sell."

"Yes, I know that, Rory, I'm not exactly one to miss the obvious."

"No," Angel agreed, somewhat mockingly, which made Rory look over at her in concern.

"But we need everything we can get," the Doctor turned and pulled two large guns from a chest, not seeing Angel shifting uncomfortably at the sight of the weapons, "Ok, Cyber-weapons. This is basically a sentry box. So, headless wonder here was a sentry. Probably got himself duffed up by the locals. Never underestimate a Celt."

"Doctor..." Rory tried to speak.

"Hush, Rory. Why leave a Cyberman on guard? Unless it's a Cyber-thing in the box. But why would they lock up one of their own? Ok, no, not a Cyber-thing, but what, what? No, I'm missing something obvious, Rory!"

"Yes, you are," Angel agreed, though it was more than just Rory she was talking about.

He turned to stand face-to-face with the 'reborn' man, "Something big, something right slap in front of me, I can feel it!"

"Yeah, I think you probably are," Rory agreed.

"I'll get it in a minute."

He turned and left, leaving Rory to look at Angel, "And sometimes never," she added quietly.

Rory frowned, about to question her, when there was a crash as the Doctor dropped the guns and slowly reentered the room. He walked up to Rory and stared at him, poking him in the chest, making him sway, "Hello again."

"Hello."

"How've you been?"

"Good. Yeah, good. I mean, Roman."

"Rory the Roman," Angel remarked with a laugh, earning a smile from Rory, she'd called Rory that once before, she really liked that nickname now.

"Rory, I'm not trying to be rude, but you _died_ ," the Doctor continued.

"Yeah, I know, I was there," he nodded.

"You died and then you were erased from time. You didn't just die, you were never born at all, you never existed."

"Erased? What does _that_ mean?"

"How can you _be_ here?"

"I don't know. It's kind of...fuzzy."

"Fuzzy?"

"Well, I died and turned into a Roman. It's very distracting!" he turned to Amy and lightly stroked her cheek, "Did she miss me?"

The Doctor didn't know what to say but Angel did, "Yes, very much."

The ground started to shake once more as a whooshing noise sounded. The Doctor and Rory ran out to see the Pandorica's symbols were now glowing green. Angel walked out behind them, watching as the Doctor flashed the sonic on it, the soldiers watching with her.

"What is it? What's happening?"

"The final phase," the Doctor murmured, setting a hand on the turning gears, "It's opening."

~8~

The Romans stood, looking up at the sky, as Rory stepped out from the underhenge to join them, watching the ships fly about.

~8~

River watched from a distance, on horseback, holding up a comm., "You're surrounded. Have you got a plan?"

~8~

"Yes!" the Doctor called as he lay on the ground by the box, using his sonic, "Now hurry up and get the TARDIS here. I need equipment!" he got to his feet, quickly flashing the box, needing to work out what was going on.

"Doctor…" Angel called softly, "I think I should go with River."

"I _don't_ need your help," River cut in.

Angel ignored her and looked at the Doctor, frowning a moment as she saw him staring at her in shock, "If there's a chance that the TARDIS might explode, I should be there. I can help her, maybe even prevent it."

"I know how to work the TARDIS. I can handle the ship just fine."

"Have you ever managed to calm her mid-tantrum before?" Angel asked, near snapping at the woman, not even bothering to bring up how the TARDIS continually sparked at her the last time she'd tried to pilot the old box, because this River hadn't reached that point so far. For all she knew, THIS River might not get sparked at, but that didn't put her at ease at all. And all this arguing was just wasting time, time they didn't have.

River was silent a moment, "No."

"There you go," Angel nodded, looking at the Doctor, "I'll go help her," she turned to head off...when she felt someone grab her wrist lightly, stopping her. She turned to see it was the Doctor, he'd jolted forward and grabbed her arm, "What is it?"

"I..." he blinked, shaking his head, "I don't know, I just..." he looked at his hand, as though it had had a mind of its own, as though he hadn't consciously been aware of the fact that he'd grabbed her till just then, "I..."

"Doctor I need to go help River," she reminded him.

"Yes, yes I know," he nodded, staring at his hand as though willing it to let her go...but it wasn't working, "I...um..." he swallowed, and slowly let go of her arm, "Sorry."

"Are you alright Doctor?" she asked, eyeing him.

He just...looked at her though.

No, he wasn't. The TARDIS might explode and Angel was willingly walking into it. But, then again, if anyone could stop the box exploding it was Angel.

He wasn't because...he might need Angel's help with the ships in the sky...but then again, she'd be far away from them and in less danger.

He wasn't...because something wasn't right. About all of this. He didn't need to be Angel to know that, he could just sniff it out. And if something was wrong then something was dangerous and he needed Angel with him, because he didn't want her to get hurt, he couldn't bear the thought of her being hurt. She had to be with him so he could protect her. But then again he DID know that if the danger came to them, he'd worry about her and he might be distracted...

No, no it was better for Angel to go stop the TARDIS. She'd stop it and all this would be avoided. She was quite good at stopping potential futures from happening, he'd seen it in the past, her saving people who were meant to be killed, changing little events...this was rather a major one, but the TARDIS was just HER area of expertise, and he trusted her, she'd work out a way to keep the box safe.

"Fine," he murmured, nodding to himself.

Angel eyed him a moment, wondering if he even realized he was lying, before she shook her head, she didn't have the time, "Right," she swallowed, "See you later."

He nodded, waving her off, before picking up the comm., "River wait for Angel and then I want the two of you to get to work on the TARDIS."

~8~

River rolled her eyes but made no move to leave.

~8~

"What are you?" the Doctor whispered to the box, "They're all here, all of them, all for _you_. What could you _possibly_ be?"

~8~

As the ships flew overhead, the Doctor's voice suddenly called out into the dark, "Sorry, sorry, dropped it."

Rory looked around, trying to find him.

"Hello, Stonehenge! Who takes the Pandorica, takes the Universe. But bad news, everyone..." the Doctor jumped on a flat stone, "'Cos guess who?! Ha!" he held up the comm. using it as a microphone, "Listen, you lot, you're all whizzing about, it's really very distracting. Could you all just stay still a minute? Because I. AM. TALKING!"

And then...the ships actually stilled.

He smirked, "The question of the hour is, who's got the Pandorica? Answer...I do. Next question, who's coming to take it from me?" he held out his arms, waiting for an answer, "Come on! Look at me, no plan, no backup, no weapons worth a damn. Oh, and something else, I don't have, anything...to...lose! So if you're sitting up there in your silly little spaceship, with all your silly little guns, and you've got any plans on taking the Pandorica tonight, just remember who's standing in your way. Remember every black day I ever stopped you. And then, AND THEN...do the smart thing," he grinned, "Let somebody else try first."

He held out his arms, daring them to try, and all the ships took off.

Rory exhaled as the Doctor tossed him the comm. and jumped down, "That'll keep 'em squabbling for half an hour!" he grinned at Rory, "Romans!"

~8~

River entered the TARDIS at a stride, her face set in an expression of mild annoyance as Angel quickly followed after her, shutting the doors behind her. River had just reached the console, about to set the coordinates to take the TARDIS to the Doctor, when the controls sparked under her hand, making her snap it back.

"I tried to warn you the TARDIS is a bit temperamental," Angel told her as she rushed to the console and put the coordinates in herself.

She HAD tried to warn River as soon as the woman had tried to unlock the TARDIS...with her own key to it...and the doors refused to open for her. She'd quickly worked out that the TARDIS was still upset with River for some reason even now. She'd tried to tell River to be careful with the controls because the TARDIS was on the verge of a tantrum, not a complete lie, but River had just acted like she hadn't heard her.

"Could you pull that lever there?" she nodded to one, patting the console, silently asking the box to let River help, that they really couldn't risk any more time lost, "It's the red..."

River rolled her eyes, "I know which lever to pull," River huffed, grabbing the red-tipped lever...only for the TARDIS to dematerialize with a terrible jolt that nearly sent them both to the ground, "What's the matter with you?!" she shouted at the machine.

"What did you do?" Angel gasped, looking at River, thinking of no other reason the box would react in such a way to dematerialization.

"Nothing!" River snapped at her, "I'm not the Doctor you know!"

~8~

"They're still out there," Rory commented as he and the Doctor stood before the Pandorica, him shifting from foot to foot, a bit wary, "What do we do now?"

Angel had informed him of where she was going as she'd headed out from the underhenge and asked if he might help the Doctor. He'd agreed, of course. But...helping the Doctor face down all his enemies at once wasn't what was making him shifty, it had been the hug Angel had given him before she'd left, the tightest he'd ever had from her, tighter even than the hug hello before…it was almost as though she were saying goodbye…it made him nervous and worried…and, _someone_ had to worry about her and look after her especially when the Doctor didn't seem to notice, too focused on the odd green box to notice much of anything really.

"If I can stop whatever's in this box getting out, then they'll go home," the Doctor replied, glancing back at Rory.

"Right."

"Rory, I'm sorry, you're going to have to be very brave now," he said, seeing Amy approach.

"Oh my head," Amy moaned as she walked past Rory and over to the Doctor, rubbing her head.

"Ah," he opened his mouth.

"Ah," she mimicked.

He gave her a cursory examination, "Just your basic knockout drops. Get some fresh air, you'll be fine."

"Is it safe up there?" she yawned, still a bit drowsy.

"Not remotely, but it's fresh."

"Fine," she sighed and turned, nearly bumping into Rory, "Oh, you're the guy, yeah? The one who did the...swordy thing?"

"Yeah," Rory said, his expectant smile falling from his face.

"Well, thanks for the swording. Nice swording," she patted him on the shoulder and continued on.

"No problem," he breathed, before shaking his head, "My men are up there. They'll look after you."

"Good. Love a Roman!" she waved over her shoulder and made her way up the stairs.

"She doesn't remember me," Rory realized before turning to the Doctor, "How can she not remember me?"

"Because you never existed," he said sadly.

Rory just shook his head, but HE and Angel remembered him...

~8~

The TARDIS jolted, no matter what Angel tried to do to get the box to Stonehenge.

"What are you doing?!" River shouted above the grinding noise, just holding onto the console as the box sparked and shook even more violently when SHE tried to touch a control, "What's wrong?"

"Come on girl," Angel reached out and stroked the rotor, giving up on the controls for now, "It's alright. You're fighting the controls and the coordinates. Why? Where do you want to take us instead?"

The TARDIS calmed only slightly from her words, seeing that her one pilot was allowing her to change the course, to bring them where she needed them to go to discover what she knew...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...O.O...uh oh...Angel's in the TARDIS with River? Will she be able to stop the explosion? She IS really good at handling TARDISes and now, thanks to Vincent, she's prepared for it ;) I think, she'd have a way out even if she couldn't stop it... hmmm... }:) Perhaps...perhaps it's NOT the TARDIS exploding that will cause the cracks...perhaps it might be something to do with the Pandorica and who is trapped inside it fighting to get out ;) I suppose we'll find out tomorrow }:)
> 
> But did you like the little Doctor-panic moment where he just grabbed Angel to keep her from going :) And Rory! Rory's back! Yay! I hope you all liked the little reunion moment between them :) I could NOT wait to get Rory back! Like he said, someone has to worry about Angel :) ...imagine his reaction when he learns the TARDIS might explode and Angel's gone to try and stop it ;)


	41. The Pandorica Opens: The TARDIS

"Doctor!" Rory shouted, seeing the Doctor going back to examining the Pandorica, "How is that possible? I can't be erased or not born...YOU remember me and Angel did too!"

"Yes, I know that Rory..." the Doctor began.

"She was happy to see me, she gave me a hug," Rory continued, as though the Doctor hadn't interrupted, "But Amy just..."

The Doctor spun around, frowning at him, "Angel hugged you?" he eyed the man, taking a few steps closer to him, nearly in his face, "Why did you hug Angel?"

Rory leaned back, "You hug Amy all the time."

"That's different."

"How? She's your companion, I'm Angel's companion..."

"Yes but...you're..."

The Doctor blinked, taking a few steps back, giving Rory his space as he frowned, why WAS he getting so worked up over the thought of Angel hugging Rory? She hugged plenty of people and Rory all the time...granted he generally felt a deep sense of, well, hatred, for the man being hugged. But...that was normal, wasn't it? She was the last Time Lady, who knew what those other men...like Vincent...might be thinking, what they might try to do? What if they hurt her? What if they took advantage of her? What if they took her away from him?

He shook his head, no, this was RORY they were talking about at the moment. And Rory had Amy, even if Amy didn't remember him, why would he need Angel too? He didn't. Though...he HAD noticed Rory and Angel were very close...closer than he'd ever been with his companions, possibly...possibly even closer than she and Mickey had been ( _had_ Mickey been her companion? She'd said she bonded to the TARDIS just after he'd regenerated...). She and Rory did hug an awful lot, and stick together, and talk, and wander the TARDIS together, and...

Why did it BOTHER him SO MUCH that it was _Rory_ she did those things with? Rory was completely right, HE was Angel's companion, she ought to be close to him, worry about him, get to know him. And he DID hug Amy a lot and spend time around her but...he just couldn't help the flash of... _something_...that always hit him whenever Angel was with another man, that something that made him just want to pull her away and spirit her back to the TARDIS and get them into the Vortex and as far away from the other men as possible.

Even when she'd been with Jack, a part of his mind had been on the men of Torchwood. Granted Jack was her brother, Ianto was as good as her brother given his relationship with Jack, Owen and Rhys were both married to Tosh and Gwen, and Gray was her brother too...thankfully that Captain John person hadn't been there and even if he had...he seemed more fond of Jack than Angel last time they'd met. But still...who knew what sort of men she'd come in contact with and...what if she liked one of them?

Well, that was ridiculous, of course it was. True, Angel liked everyone well enough, but she wouldn't fall for a human...would she? No, no, she wouldn't, no. He swallowed hard, feeling a pit fall into his stomach at the thought of that, what if she had? No, no, that wouldn't happen. It couldn't. Could it? No! He shook his head fiercely, something inside of him... _hurting_...at the thought of Angel falling in love with someone and leaving.

Which made no sense at all because she'd already said that she was in love with someone from Gallifrey that had been lost.

And _that_ had hurt him too, to hear.

He didn't know why, but...hearing her talk about that man, that wonderful man...that man she just adored (he could tell from her words how much she did), that man she loved, that man she claimed would be the _only_ man she ever loved...it _bothered_ him. He'd ended up in his room after Angel had gone to bed, just...pacing. He hadn't known why, he _still_ didn't, but hearing her talk about that man upset him. He had no claim to Angel, they were friends, mates...STILL he winced at that word...and he cared for her, he wanted her to be happy...

...so why did the thought of her being happy with some random human, or even another alien, upset him so much?

"Doctor?" Rory asked hesitantly, seeing various expressions play across the Doctor's face and starting to grow a bit concerned. The man had fallen quite silent, NOT something he was used to from the Doctor, and it was worrying.

"There are cracks," the Doctor explained, shaking himself out of his thoughts, getting back to Rory's first question, "Cracks in time. There's going to be a huge explosion in the future, on one particular day. And every other moment in history is cracking around it."

"So how does that work?" Rory eyed him, "What kind of explosion? What exploded?"

He was, to be quite honest, slowly growing more and more concerned, especially now, knowing something was going to explode. Because if it was something involving time...the only thing he could think of was the TARDIS. And...if the TARDIS was exploding...

He stiffened. No. No that _couldn't_ be it, not at all, the TARDIS was NOT going to explode! _Angel_ was in there! Angel was in that box right that very moment and...the Doctor, no matter how oblivious he could be, the man wouldn't just let her, or anyone, walk into that box if he knew there was even the slightest chance that it was about to explode.

Right?

He wouldn't.

Would he?

No, the man wouldn't risk Angel. Not the last of his kind. Not like that.

"Doesn't matter," the Doctor waved him off, though Rory noticed a stiffening of his shoulders.

"Doctor...don't tell me it's the _TARDIS_ that explodes," Rory said, his voice deceptively calm and low, though, if the Doctor had been looking, he would have seen the Roman's hands clenching into fists. He could see the Doctor tense at the words and it told him that the man was very much aware of the danger Angel was in, confirming his own fears that it might just be the TARDIS that exploded.

"I won't then," the Doctor muttered, swallowing hard as he rested a hand to his chest, feeling his hearts tighten at the thought of the TARDIS really exploding. He truly hadn't really thought of it, Angel was just...SO good at fixing the TARDIS and calming the box down whenever it threw a tantrum...he really and truly believed she could do it again...but Rory's concern...it was starting to make him reconsider his earlier thoughts and now he was starting to worry as well.

"Well is it?!" Rory nearly shouted when he didn't answer.

The Doctor glanced back over his shoulder at Rory, "You said not to tell you."

"Doctor!" Rory huffed, "Angel's in there!"

"Yes, Rory," he spun around, storming right up to the man, "I'm _well_ aware of that, thank you! But if anyone, _anyone_ in the Universe, can _stop_ the TARDIS exploding it's Angel. Believe you me, I didn't want to let her go either, but..."

He cut off suddenly, looking away from Rory a moment and then down, thoughtful. Those words...they struck something in him. He hadn't wanted to let her go, he'd grabbed her and everything in him told him _not_ to let her go...but...he couldn't help but feel like there was MORE to it than just letting her go into the TARDIS.

What _was_ it though? Oh it was so frustrating! Angel frustrated him. Well, not Angel exactly, but...things were complicated around her. He constantly found himself saying things and doing things and thinking things around her before he even realized he'd said them or done them or thought them. He'd _never_ felt this before, he didn't understand what it was. And it was incredibly annoying to not know something, especially when it _kept_ happening, especially when he felt like he SHOULD know it, like it was just at the tip of his tongue, the corner of his eye, the edge of his thoughts...and...nothing.

"But what?" Rory asked, trying to be calmer, trying to think about this logically, getting worked up and angry wouldn't help Angel.

"But Angel loves that box," the Doctor continued, looking back at Rory, "She'd do _anything_ to keep something from happening to it. Just..." he patted Rory's shoulder, "Trust her...she'll think of something."

Rory eyed him a moment, knowing that was true. The TARDIS was the last connection Angel had to her family, she'd told him all about them during their talks as she gave him tours of the TARDIS. He knew she'd rather put herself in the line of danger if it meant saving the box, and he did, trust her that is, with his life. Angel really was the only one he could think of that might be able to stop the TARDIS exploding.

"And these crack things?" Rory began, agreeing, for the moment, to let it go, "What exactly did they do to me?"

The Doctor nodded his thanks and turned back to the Pandorica once more, both men sharing a silent understanding that the _only_ way they'd get through this without going mad with worry for Angel, was to keep distracted, "The cracks are everywhere. Get too close and you can alright out of the Universe."

"So I fell through a crack and now I was never born?"

"Basically."

"How did I end up here?"

"I don't know, you shouldn't have. What happened?" he glanced at Rory, "From your point of view, what physically happened?"

"I was in the cave, with you and Angel and Amy. I was dying and then I was just...here, a Roman soldier. A proper Roman. Head full of Roman...stuff, a whole other life. Just here, like I'd woken up from a dream. Started to think it _was_ a dream. You and Angel and Amy and Leadworth. Then today, in the camp, the men were talking about the visitors, the girl with the red hair, the woman in the blue dress, and I thought you'd come back for me. But Amy…she can't even remember me."

"Oh, shut up," the Doctor laughed.

"What?"

The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring box, tossing it to Rory, "Go get her."

"But I don't understand. Why am I here?"

"Because you are," he shrugged, before sighing, "The Universe is big. It's vast and complicated and ridiculous, and sometimes, very rarely, impossible things just...happen and we call them miracles, and that's the theory. 900 years, I've only seen one."

"What was it?"

The Doctor blinked, looking in the distance, seeing a faint image of Angel, with brilliant red hair, standing in the TARDIS, bathed in golden and orange energy, before shaking his head, "This one though, this would do me. Now get upstairs, she's Amy and she's surrounded by Romans. I'm not sure history can take it!"

Rory hesitated a moment before turning to go. No. No the Doctor _wouldn't_ let Angel go into a box that was about to explode without knowing she'd be ok in the end. He just wouldn't. Never mind that, _Angel_ wouldn't have gone into the box, knowing it might explode, if she didn't think she'd be ok either, she would NOT risk that baby, not for anything. So she would be fine. She had to be…or Rory would kill him. He would. He'd go down in history as 'the Man Who Killed The Doctor.' He stopped short at that thought before nodding, yes, he would. Angel was _so_ special to him, in such a short time she'd become so important to him, not quite as important as Amy, but really very close. She really was like an older sister who always believed in him and encouraged him and saw how brilliant he was and looked out for him at her own expense. And he found, he would _always_ return the favor, even if it meant looking out for her when it came to the Doctor as well.

Rory nodded to himself and continued on, the Doctor slapping him on the back as he headed out.

~8~

River and Angel hesitated a moment after the TARDIS set down, waiting to see if anything would happen, but all was quiet. Angel turned to the rotor, reaching out to stroke it a moment, "You ok now girl?" she asked, soothing the TARDIS, but she frowned.

This was...not Stonehenge, it wasn't even the same time period as they'd left the Doctor in, but...THIS was where the TARDIS wanted them to go and she had learned ages ago to let a TARDIS do the piloting when it fought for control like the box had. TARDISes were SO alive, something that many other Time Lords had forgotten in their travels, degrading them to just machines that travelled in time and space. But they were conscious, they were aware, and they were foreseeing. If the TARDIS brought them there, it was because there was something outside those doors that they NEEDED to see.

Angel looked over to River as the woman whacked the monitor a few times, but was unable to bring up a picture to see exactly where they were, "Come on," she huffed, turning and heading for the door. She opened it and stepped out, Angel hesitating a moment, glancing back at the console as the TARDIS hummed gently at her, before following.

Neither of them saw the monitor spring to life with the date reading 26/6/2010 or the crack appear in the monitor with a ghostly voice growling, "Silence will fall!"

"Why has the TARDIS brought us here?" River asked as they walked outside, only to see Amy's house before them.

"Because this is where we need to be," Angel replied quietly, "There's something here she wants us to see."

River pulled out her scanner and slowly walked towards the door to the house, when it beeped before they even reached it. They looked over to see what was clearly an alien symbol burned into the grass, "Ok, so something's been here."

Angel looked over to see the door to Amy's house off its hinges and frowned, that was never a good sign in those scary movies Martha and her used to watch. According to Martha, after travelling with the Doctor, horror movies weren't all that scary any longer. It had been...nice, bonding with Martha over horror movies. They would both still get scared and then grab each other's arms, screaming and jumping and then laughing when the Doctor burst in at the sounds of their shouts to make sure they were ok. That was something she loved, all the Doctor's companions were so different in tastes. Rose had loved watching 'chick flicks' as Mickey had called them, romantic movies and things, while Martha was more for the thrill of horror, Donna had comedy down, and Amy...yes, even she and Amy watched movies, though Amy was more for action, given all the running they tended to do...and she did love ogling the men in those movies as well, not that SHE could really see what was so spectacular about them, the Doctor did everything they did with only a sonic screwdriver in hand. It was nice, their personalities were so reflective in the movies they chose. And because of that, she knew that a door literally hanging off its hinges was NOT good at all.

But River didn't seem the least bit disturbed as she strode towards the door, Angel rushing after her as they proceeded in and walked around the house. Angel paused at the base of the stairs though, looking up them a moment before slowly making her way along them, River frowning as she followed behind, letting Angel take the lead just for the moment. Angel walked along the hall, bringing them to what was most certainly Amy's room. They paused, looking at Amy's childhood Raggedy Doctor dolls, one or two resembling Angel as well, though far fewer than the Doctor, cartoons pinned up on the walls of adventures she wanted to have with the Doctor and his box as a child. There were whales like Shamu flying in the sky, and pirates on a ship, her standing beside a man with ginger hair with the two of them painting on easels, and quite a few others that brought a smile to Angel's face.

She turned to see a children's book on Roman Britain, a soldier prominently on the cover, "River look at this," she held it up.

River walked over from where she was scanning Amy's cupboard, her eyes widening as she recognized the Roman on the front as the commander she had spoken to in the encampment. She looked over to see another book on Pandora's box, "And this…" she breathed, "Oh no…"

~8~

Amy was sitting on a log outside, staring at the stars and the lingering ships, with a blanket wrapped around her when Rory found her, "Are you ok?" he asked.

"Did the Doctor send you?" Amy rolled her eyes, "I'm fine, he just fusses."

"You got a blanket. That's good," he nodded, "Who gave you that?"

"One of the fellas."

"Which one?" he looked back at the camp, eyeing a few of the more...flirty...men suspiciously.

"Just one of them. Does it matter?"

Rory looked at her curiously, the Amy he knew, well...the one from _before_ the Dream Lord incident, would have given him a detailed description of which man it was, complete with hair and eye color and height and possible amount of muscles...but the Amy from _after_ the Dream Lord...to her men were just men, no distinction except for him. He smiled a bit, maybe...maybe it meant, somehow, that Amy DID remember him a little.

"No, no. Forget him, it. Forget it."

"What's your name?"

"I'm...Rory," he trailed off, seeing her stiffen, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just..." she eyed him intently, "Not what you expect Romans to be called. What's it short for? Roranicus?"

"Yeah," he studied her face, a frown coming to his own, "You're crying…"

Amy blinked and put a hand to her face to wipe away the tear, startled she was crying again and hadn't even noticed.

~8~

"The TARDIS, where is it?" the Doctor called into the comm. as it beeped and he'd heard River and Angel call out, "Hurry up!"

"Don't raise your voice, don't look alarmed, just _listen_ ," River called back quietly.

~8~

"Hey, what's wrong?" Rory eyed Amy, seeing more tears coming to her eyes as another expression made its way onto her face, one that was NOT sadness.

"Nothing," Amy cried, starting to laugh, "It's like...it's like I'm happy," she shook her head, still smiling, though seeming very confused, "Why am I happy?"

~8~

"They're not real, they _can't_ be," River continued, "They're all right here, in the story book, those actual Romans, the ones I sent you, the ones you're with right now. They're all in a book in Amy's house, a children's picture book."

"What are you even _doing_ there?" the Doctor cried with a frown, his hearts starting to race, if they were at Amy's...then there was a chance they were there on the 26th of June...and that was the SAME day the TARDIS exploded!

"It doesn't matter. The TARDIS went wrong..."

"She didn't go wrong," Angel cut in, "Doctor, the TARDIS knew, she _knew_ it was some sort of trap, she was trying to warn you by showing us this."

"Doctor, how is this possible?"

"Something's trying to use Amy's memories against him..."

"Yes, I got that," River nearly snapped, making the Doctor wince, he understood that it was a stressful situation, but there was no need to be snippy, "But _how_?"

"You said something had been there," he cut in, not wanting them to start fighting, not that he thought Angel would start a fight, but...well...she'd been a bit of an odd mood lately, he'd noticed sometimes she'd be calm then scared, happy then frightening, just...all over the place really. It reminded him very much of himself at times, he could be rather random in his own mood swings too.

"Yes, there's burn marks on the grass outside, landing patterns."

"If they've been to her house, they could have used her psychic residue. Structures can hold memories, that's why houses have ghosts. They could've taken a snapshot of Amy's memories. But why?"

"Doctor, who are those Romans?"

"Projections. Or duplicates."

"But they were _helping_ us. My lipstick even worked."

"They might think they're real. The perfect disguise. They actually believe their own cover story, right until they're activated."

"Doctor…" Angel came on again, making him stiffen at the slight tremor in her voice, "Rory…there's a picture of _him_ here too, with Amy, dressed as a Centurion..." she sighed, "I'm sorry Doctor, I didn't even sense it..."

"Maybe you're just not as sharp as you think," River commented.

"Or maybe it's just a _very_ deep cover then," the Doctor reminded River, defending Angel a bit.

He knew that girl wouldn't have biased herself into believing Rory was really back to the point where she missed that. Though...he had to admit there _was_ a tiny part of him that thought she might have done that, that she was just so glad he was back that she'd not noticed he wasn't _really_ back. That was a thing with Visionaries on Gallifrey, they were never meant to interact much, to form a social bond or even create any sort of relationship with anyone, not even friendship, to remain unbiased. It was a lonely existence, one he was rather glad Angel _hadn't_ been subjected to. He saw her with the companions, she was just brilliant and she was just...too special to be confined to such a fate.

"They are physically real...till activation."

~8~

"What's the matter?" Rory frowned, kneeling before Amy, concerned.

"Nothing," Amy shook her head, reaching out with a hand to caress his face, "I don't know why I'm doing that."

"It's me," he breathed, daring to hope, if there was one thing Angel had given him it was hope, hope that he could be this incredible person she saw him as, hope that that incredible man might be someone worth remembering, just...hope in everything, "Amy, please...it's _me_."

~8~

"It's a trap, Doctor," Angel repeated, more firmly than before, more sure, "They used what Amy knew to make something up for you to investigate, they used her to get to you!"

"Why?" the Doctor shook his head, "Who'd do that? What for? It doesn't make sense," he frowned, hearing the TARDIS start to shake and shudder, "River? Angel? What's happening?!"

"I don't know!" it was River this time.

"It's the engines," then Angel.

"Doctor, there's something wrong with the TARDIS. Like something else is controlling it."

"You're flying it wrong," he stated.

"She's actually flying it right," Angel told him, defending the woman despite everything, and the _last_ thing they needed was the Doctor shouting about how they needed to pilot the box right when they _were_ instead of helping them work out what was going on!

"Where are you? What's the date reading?" he closed his eyes, praying he was wrong in his assumption.

"It's the 26th June, 2010."

The Doctor's eyes widened, his hearts pounding now as his knuckles turned white with how tightly he was holding the comm., "You need to get out of there now! Angel! Any other time zone, just go!"

"We can't break free!" River shouted.

"Well, then, shut down the TARDIS. Shut down everything!"

"I tried!" Angel gasped, sounding scared which made his hearts beat all the faster, his chest tightening as his mind started to go fuzzy in fear...

And then...an eerie voice rasped, "Silence will fall…silence will fall!"

~8~

Amy pulled her hand away from Rory's face and stood," But I don't know you, I've never seen you before in my life."

"You _have_ ," Rory told her, standing with her, "You _know_ you have. It's me."

She backed away, "Why am I crying?"

"Because you remember me. I came back!" he reached out and took her hands, Amy letting out a breath at the (somehow) familiar sensation, "You're crying because you remember me."

~8~

"Someone else has got control of the TARDIS!" Angel told them, "Someone else is flying her. We can't pilot her!"

"But how?" the Doctor shouted, "Why?"

There was a sudden high-pitched whine, making the Doctor cover his ears.

Unnoticed, behind him, the Romans dropped into a bent forward position, as were the Romans outside, save Rory, who fell to the ground, fighting it.

"Listen to me," the Doctor called again, "Angel just land anywhere. Emergency landing, now. Please you've got to get out of there! River, there are cracks in time, Angel and I've seen them everywhere, and they're getting wider," the Romans straightened behind him, "The TARDIS exploding is what causes them, but we can stop the cracks ever happening if you both just land her!"

"It's not safe," River argued, "And the TARDIS seems cross with me at the moment. It won't let me touch the controls."

The Doctor opened his mouth to answer, to tell Angel to talk to the TARDIS...when a light started to shine on his face...the Pandorica was starting to open, two sides sliding away from the closest corner to the cavern entrance. He lowered the communicator in wonder, "Well, now. Ready to come out, are we?"

The Romans turned in unison and lifted their right hands in front of them as though holding guns...

~8~

The Romans outside started walking towards Stonehenge but Rory resisted, "No! No, _please_ , no! I'm not going. I'm Rory!"

Amy watched, her eyes wide, not knowing what was happening.

~8~

"Doctor, we're down," River said as the TARDIS thumped.

"I've landed her," Angel added.

"Ok," he shook his head, bringing the comm. up again, "Just walk out of the doors..."

"...to shut down the engines."

"Right," he smiled, he should have known Angel would work out what to do, even if she wasn't psychic, TARDISes were HER strength, "Just get out of there," he swallowed, "Please Angel...just get out..."

"Got it!"

"We're going," River agreed.

"Run!" he yelled, turning towards the Pandorica, dropping the comm. so he could use both hands to examine the box.

~8~

River and Angel ran to the TARDIS doors.

~8~

The fingers of the Romans dropped down to reveal guns underneath as they marched towards the Doctor, who was sonicing the box, too distracted to notice them.

~8~

River tried to open the doors but they wouldn't budge, she grunted and grabbed the communicator out of Angel's hands, "Doctor! Doctor! I can't open the doors!"

~8~

As the Doctor went to pick up the communicator...when he spotted the Romans advancing, "Amy!"

~8~

Rory struggled against the programming, against the commands running through his head, looking at Amy with tears in his eyes, needing to fight it for her, "Listen to me, you have to run. You have to get as far away from here as you can! I'm a thing. I'll kill you. Just go! Please, no," he hunched forward, shaking his head, shaking in his efforts, "I don't want to go. I'm Rory! I'm...I'm..."

"Williams," Amy breathed, "Rory Williams from Leadworth. My boyfriend," she knelt down and held him by the shoulders, "How could I _ever_ forget you?"

"Amy, you've got to run. I can't hold on, I'm going..."

"You are Rory Williams and you aren't going anywhere _ever_ again."

She didn't need to be Angel to know that, she was _not ever_ going to let _anything_ take Rory from her again.

~8~

"Doctor!" River shouted as Angel ran back to the controls to try and open the doors from there, "I can't open the doors! Doctor, please, I've got seconds!"

Angel closed her eyes a moment, all about River wasn't it? She wondered, briefly, if River even knew SHE was pregnant, if she knew of a child in the future? If there even was a child in the future? She shook her head, no, she needed to focus on getting the three of them out alive right now.

~8~

The Doctor was dragged away by two Roman soldiers, led away from the Pandorica, "Plastic Romans. Duplicates, driven by the Nestene Consciousness, eh? Deep cover, but what for? What are you doing? What's in there, eh? What's coming out?"

~8~

River ran a jumper cable from the console and attached it to the main doors, Angel watching cautiously before a small frown made is way onto her face as she looked down at the controls.

... _Rory screamed as a blast fired from his fingers, striking Amy, who fell backwards_...

... _the Doctor sat in the Pandorica, the sides closing, sealing him in_...

... _the stars in the night's sky exploded, casting the Universe into darkness_...

She closed her eyes, and she knew, River's plan wouldn't work. She swallowed hard and began to work on controls of her own.

~8~

The two solders faced the Pandorica, the Doctor between them, facing the other way, "The Pandorica is ready," a soldier called.

"What, you mean it's open?" he frowned.

"You have been scanned," a Dalek reported, "Assessed. Understood. Doctor," he looked over his shoulder to see the White Dalek, the Red and the Yellow appearing beside it.

~8~

"The ring," Amy said, crying, "Remember the ring? You'd never let me wear it in case I lost it."

"The Doctor gave it to me."

"Show it to me. Show me the ring."

"Amy..."

"Come on! Just show it to me!"

With shaking hands, Rory took out the box and opened it.

~8~

The Doctor faced the Daleks, still being restrained, "Scanned? Scanned by what, a _box_?"

"Your limits and capacities have been extrapolated," a Cyberman replied.

The Doctor looked around and a Cyberman appeared, three Judoon and three Sontarans on either side of it and two others.

"The Pandorica is ready," the Sontaran reported.

"Ready for _what_?" he demanded.

"Ready for _you_ ," the White Dalek stated.

The Doctor looked over his shoulder to see a chair with restraints inside the box amongst the advanced technology. He tried to pull away but the soldiers pulled him forward with ease.

~8~

"There it is," Amy smiled, seeing it, "You remember. This is you. And you are staying."

Rory's hand opened, revealing the gun, "No..." he groaned, but fired anyway, Amy gasped, falling back as she was shot, "No. No!"

~8~

River connected the wires as the TARDIS continued to spark and explode around her.

Angel winced, taking a breath as she continued to work, she knew what would happen if the TARDIS exploded, she could feel it profoundly in her what was happening on Earth, she had seen it. The Doctor being led to the Pandorica...Amy...Rory...the Doctor could save them, she knew, but he'd need time.

And she had always been very good with time...

But there was only _one_ way to give him enough of it...

~8~

Silurians, Hoix, and Roboforms joined the growing number of the Doctor's enemies as he was walked towards the prison.

~8~

River shoved down a crank, causing sparks to fly out of the console.

Angel looked up as the TARDIS hummed angrily, more at her than River, working out what she was planning, "I'm _sorry_ ," she whispered to the box, for what it would mean for both of them. She put her hand on her stomach, "I'm SO sorry..."

~8~

The Doctor's enemies watched, grinning widely, triumphant, as he was forced up to the box.

~8~

Rory sobbed, holding Amy's limp and unmoving body in his arms.

~8~

The Doctor was forced into the chair, the clamps placed around his wrists and ankles, a large yoke coming down over his shoulders. His enemies stood, gloating, "You lot, working together, an alliance...how is that possible?" he asked.

"The cracks in the skin of the Universe," the Dalek started.

"All reality is threatened," the Sontaran finished.

"All Universes will be deleted," the Cyberman reported.

"What?" he frowned, "And you've come to me for...help?"

"No," the Sontaran glared, "We will save the Universe _from_ you!"

"From _me_?"

"All projections correlate," the Cyberman nodded, "All evidence concurs. The Doctor will destroy the Universe."

"No, no, no. You've got it wrong."

"The Pandorica was constructed to ensure the safety of the alliance."

"A scenario was devised from the memories of your companion," a Dalek stated.

"A trap the Doctor could not resist," the Sontaran grinned.

"The cracks in time are the work of the Doctor. It is confirmed."

"No," he shook his head, "No, no. Not me, the _TARDIS_. And I'm not in the TARDIS, am I?"

He closed his eyes, realizing the horrible truth, ANGEL was in the TARDIS...he could only pray that she'd be able to stop it...if she could stop it then all of them would realize this was pointless and go back to fighting each other...or try to kill him...but probably fight each other and give him a chance to get away.

"Only the Doctor can pilot the TARDIS."

It wasn't true _at all_ , Angel could too, but all those enemies, only a handful had ever met her and for all they knew, maybe she DIDN'T know how to pilot the TARDIS. HE hadn't even known she was bonded to the box till a few months ago.

"Please, listen to me!"

"You will be prevented."

"Total event collapse! Every sun will supernova at every moment in history. The _whole Universe_ will never have existed! Please, listen to me!"

"Seal the Pandorica," the Cyberman commanded.

"No! Please, _listen_ to me! The TARDIS is exploding right now! _Listen to me_!"

But the box slid shut...

~8~

River opened the doors to the TARDIS...only to see a stone wall, "No…" she breathed, stepping back.

"River…" Angel called, River looked up, "I'm sorry."

She hit a button down on the console and River's eyes widened. "No! Don't you d…"

And then she was gone, teleported out, a moment before the TARDIS exploded, taking Angel with it...

~8~

Rory wept, holding Amy, not even noticing the stars exploding into supernovas around him...

To be continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did promise a twist about the TARDIS and Pandorica and Angel. She's IN the exploding TARDIS! -gasp!- And...as a Time Lady...well...I don't think River noticed the loop, so Angel... :( So here's a question...why did Angel do that?! Why send River out if she was able to work the teleports? Why do that to herself, to the baby?
> 
> ...what will happen to the baby as a result?! O.O
> 
> SO many questions...I suppose we'll find out }:)
> 
> But I do hope you liked the little glimpse into the Doctor's thoughts and Rory :) I have to say, the Big Bang was one of my favorites to write :)


	42. The Big Bang: No More Stars

_1,894 years later…_

A little ginger girl knelt by her bed at night, saying her prayers before she went to sleep, "Dear Santa, thank you for the dolls and pencils and the fish. It's Easter now, so I hope I didn't wake you. But honest, it is an emergency. There's a crack in my wall..." she turned to glance at the crack before turning back sharply, unnerved by it, "Aunt Sharon says it's just an ordinary crack, but...I know it's not, because, at night, there's voices. So please, _please_ , could you send someone to fix it? Or a policeman. Or..."

The rest of her prayers and pleas were cut off by a sound of rustling wind outside.

The girl looked back at her window, "Back in a moment," and ran to it, grabbing a small torch, looking outside to see...nothing there. She looked up at the sky to see the moon but no other stars out there.

She sighed, the sky was always like that, black, no speckles of light. She heard people talking about it, something called 'stars' or something, but she'd never seen them. Not awake. She dreamed of them though, that she was floating in space, in the black, and there were all these amazing lights around her, little pinpricks of light, just...glowing and warm and golden. But they were never there when she woke up.

She turned around and returned to her bed, continuing her prayers, begging for help in dealing with the crack. Her aunt didn't believe her when she said there were whispers coming from it...

~8~

Amelia sat, facing her aunt Sharon and a psychiatrist, on the sofa, the two women currently looking at a painting she had done of the night's sky, complete with stars. She'd tried to paint it like Vincent Van Gogh might and she hoped they liked it. The sky was always so black and depressing, the 'stars' or what she thought they might be, brightened things up.

"It's a lovely painting, Amelia," her psychiatrist, her current one, number 3 she believed, began, "And what are all these?" she pointed to the bits of gold painted into the black.

"Stars."

"Oh, Amelia!" Sharon scoffed.

"Tell you what, shall we go outside?" her psychiatrist asked, leading her outside to look up at the blackness of space, "What do you see, Amelia?"

"The moon," she answered, smiling at it, it was the only light out there.

"And what else?"

"Just the dark."

"But no stars. If there were stars up there, we'd be able to see them, wouldn't we? Amelia, look at me," she knelt down and faced Amelia, resting her hands on the girl's shoulders, speaking firmly and clearly, "You know this is all just a story, don't you? You know there's no such thing as stars?"

Amelia said nothing, only looked up at the sky. People said there were no such things as angels either but she drew them too, _those_ pictures though she didn't show _anyone_. They were the only things that helped her sleep, having one of the pictures under her pillow, made her feel safe, like the crack wouldn't swallow her up, like she was protected and watched over.

It was odd, she felt the same when the daylight came and she looked at the (not-a-star) sun.

~8~

Amelia was lying in her bed, listening to her aunt and psychiatrist speak downstairs, able to hear them through her door being open a crack. It wasn't like they were even being all that quiet either. She sighed, silently getting up and sneaking out of her room, walking to the top of the stairs to listen in more clearly.

"It's quite common, actually," the psychiatrist was saying, "Throughout history, people have talked about stars in the sky. God knows where it comes from."

"I just don't want her growing up and joining one of those Star Cults," her aunt sighed, "I don't trust that Richard Dawkins…"

Amelia frowned and stood to go back to her room...when she spotted a figure outside her front door, what looked like the shadow of a man with a...thing on his head. The man crouched down and slipped something through the letter slot. She ran down and scooped it up before her aunt could see, her aunt was no fun at all and would have taken the paper away before she could see it. It might be a secret invitation or a treasure map or...the brochure for the National Museum? She frowned and opened it up to find the center of the page circled with an exhibit of the Pandorica, which was just some old box thing. She flipped it over, squinting at the note written in red ink on the back.

'Come Along Pond.'

~8~

Amelia and her aunt walked up the steps to the museum, Amelia excitedly pulling her aunt past a few exhibits, knowing _exactly_ where she had to go, for she had determined it WAS a treasure map of sorts, she was on a treasure hunt and had to follow the clues!

"Come on, aunt Sharon!"

"Look at that!" her aunt stopped to look at something, "That's good, isn't it?"

"Not _that_! This way."

"But we're not looking at anything."

"This way!" she ran off, letting go of her aunt's hand, seeing the room housing the Pandorica, and raced in. She slowed, wandering around the room, glancing briefly at two strange creatures encased in stone standing before the Pandorica, Daleks the display said.

"Amelia!" her aunt shouted after her, but she just turned and pushed her way forward till she was right in front of the Pandorica. She moved to take a sip from her soda when the cup was grabbed out of her hand. She turned to see who took it but no one was there. When she turned back there was a yellow post-it note stuck to the box, the same handwriting and red pen as the pamphlet note.

'Stick Around Pond.'

"Amelia!" she heard her aunt call and quickly turned to hide among the crowd as Sharon stepped into the room, "Amelia? Amelia?" a moment later she left, "Amelia!"

~8~

The crowd started to thin out near closing time, a final announcement coming over the speakers, "Amelia Pond, please go to the reception, please. Your aunt is waiting for you there. Amelia Pond, please go to..."

~8~

As soon as night had fallen, Amelia crept of from hiding behind one of the exhibits, knocking part of it down, "Sorry," she whispered to it before making her way back to the Pandorica.

The display was far more disturbing at night, it was tall and large and imposing and had a faint, eerie, green glow to it, but she wasn't scared. She ducked under the cord around it and placed a hand on the object, making it _really_ start to glow green. Hearing a mechanical noise she ducked back and watched as it opened, the beam of light that had fallen on her expanding to the outer exhibits behind her, including a Dalek.

Inside the Pandorica...was Amy, "Ok, kid," she panted, now very much alive, " _This_ is where it gets complicated..."

~8~

_1,894 years ago…_

Rory sat, resting against a log, Amy's body across his lap, just...wanting to hold her, wanting her to know he was still there, that he'd keep her safe, that he'd never let her go, "So the Universe ended," he murmured, trying to be strong, trying to hope for a miracle...

But it all seemed so...pointless. He knew what the instructions has been for the Pandorica, to trap the Doctor in it, he'd heard it in his mind. And, given how the man hadn't appeared to stop the sky going black, the other soldiers had succeeded. He closed his eyes, he also knew what that meant for Angel as well. She was gone, she'd died in that explosion...though he prayed harder that she might still, somehow, be alive, because...he just...he felt like if she ever died, he'd FEEL it somehow. He'd just _know_. And he hadn't. But that was besides the point, Angel might be dead, the Doctor was trapped, Amy was gone, and the Universe was falling apart...

All he had left was his words, was talking and hoping.

"You missed that," he swallowed, "In 102 AD. I suppose this means you and I never get born at all. Twice, in my case," he sniffled, "You would have laughed at that," he looked at Amy, tears in his eyes as he stroked her face, "Please laugh..." but Amy was silent. He pulled her closer, her head resting on his chest as he looked up at the heavens, "The Doctor said the Universe was huge and ridiculous, and sometimes there were miracles," he swallowed hard, "I have a feeling he was talking about Angel though, I've seen her do some miracles in the time I was with you, you told me about some others. But she's in the TARDIS somewhere and the TARDIS is gone, exploded or whatever happened. I could do with a ridiculous miracle about now..."

And then the Doctor suddenly appeared before him, a red fez on his head and a mop in his hands.

Well that _was_ certainly ridiculous enough.

"Rory!" the Doctor cheered, "Listen, she's not dead," he pointed at Amy, "Well, she _is_ dead, but it's not the end of the world. Well, it _is_ the end of the world. Actually, it's the end of the Universe. Oh, no. Hang on!" he tapped something into the device on his wrist and disappeared.

"Doctor?" Rory gaped, "Doctor!"

The Doctor reappeared but without the mop, "You need to get me out of the Pandorica," he reached into his pocket and grabbed the sonic.

Rory stared at him, "But... _you're_ not in the Pandorica."

Had the man somehow managed to escape? How else would he be there, standing right in front of him? And...if HE managed to escape the inescapable eternal prison...maybe...maybe _Angel_ had managed to escape the TARDIS with River!

"Yes, I am. Well, I'm not now, but I was back then. Well, back now from _your_ point of view, which is back then from _my_ point of view. Time travel, you can't keep it straight in your head. I see what Angel means about tenses..."

"But...how..."

"We don't have time Rory!" the Doctor cut in, before taking a breath, trying to be calm, if he didn't get himself out of the Pandorica he wouldn't be able to see what happened with the TARDIS, with Angel and River as he hadn't found them yet. He was starting to worry, it was like...with every breath he took he just...hurt...more and more. He shook his head, and held up the sonic again, "It's easy to open from the outside...just point and press. Now go," he handed him the sonic and disappeared, leaving Rory stunned for a few moments...before reappearing, "Oh, when you're done, leave my screwdriver in her top pocket. Good luck!"

And then he finally disappeared.

"What do you mean?!" Rory shook his head, "Done what?"

He wished Angel was there to explain it to him. No matter the situation, she always took the time to simplify what she could for him.

~8~

Rory stood before the Pandorica, holding the sonic at it, and flicked it on. The doors slowly opened to reveal the Doctor sitting inside, looking at him, amazed, "How did you do that?" the Doctor wondered.

"You gave me this," Rory showed him the sonic as the Doctor slowly stood, the restraints releasing him.

"No, I didn't," he pulled out his own.

"You did. Look at it."

The Doctor stepped out of the box and held his sonic to the one in Rory's hand, they sparked, "Temporal energy. Same screwdriver, at different points in its own time stream. Which means it _was_ me who gave it to you. Me from the future. I've got a future, that's nice, and speaking of futures," he looked around, "Where's Angel?"

"What?" Rory blinked, not quite sure if the Doctor had just implied that Angel was his future...

"Angel," he turned to Rory, "Yay high," he held up his hand to about his chin, "Black hair, blue dress, psychic..."

Rory nodded, oh, he'd meant future as in her visions, "Um...she's...not here."

He was worrying about that too, because if Angel had managed to get her and River out...where were they? Unless...they _hadn't_ gotten out.

The Doctor frowned, "What do you mean she's not here?"

"I dunno," Rory shook his head, "She's not here. Doctor..." he hesitated, "She's...she's not still in the TARDIS is she? I mean...she _can't_ be. It exploded!"

The Doctor spun in a circle, as though expecting to see Angel standing there somewhere, before slowing, swallowing hard, his hearts falling into his stomach, "No..." he agreed, wanting to believe it more than he actually did, "She couldn't be..."

"Then where is she?"

The Doctor closed his eyes a minute, "Where's Amy?" he asked, the one question he knew would get Rory off the topic of Angel.

"This way," Rory replied solemnly, turning to lead the Doctor out when they paused, seeing all the enemies that had been there for the Doctor standing as stone statues, "What are they?" Rory wondered as they passed.

"History has collapsed. Whole races have been deleted from existence. These are just like afterimages. Echoes, fossils in time. The footprints of the never-were."

"Er, what does that mean?"

"Total event collapse. The Universe literally never happened."

"So, how can we be here? What's keeping us safe?"

"Nothing," it was a lie, he had a fairly good idea what it was, but it was night, as far as he could see, he would have to wait till daylight to be sure and he didn't have the time, "Eye of the storm, that's all. We're just the last light to go out."

~8~

Rory led the Doctor to Amy's body, the man squatting down and lifting back the blanket that Rory had respectfully covered her with.

"I killed her," Rory whispered, so sad and hurt.

And…he wanted Angel. Because he knew the Doctor, he couldn't ever offer the comfort a simple hug from Angel seemed able to give. And right now, he just wanted someone to give him a hug, tell him it wasn't his fault, and that everything would be ok. And he'd believe it, if it was Angel. Because she could see the future and she didn't lie.

Angel had to be ok though first, she HAD to be, because he didn't think he could bear it to lose his 'wife' and his 'sister' at the same time.

"Oh, Rory!"

"Doctor, what am I?"

"You're a Nestene Duplicate. A lump of plastic with delusions of humanity," he soniced Amy.

"But I'm Rory now. Whatever was happening, it's stopped. I'm Rory!"

"That's software talking."

Rory looked down, he wanted Angel there too to prove he was real. Angel had hugged him as though he were still just Rory, and he knew, even now, that she'd hug him just the same. Like he was proper and real, and not just some fake version of himself with implanted memories. He didn't like that, thinking he wasn't real, having the Doctor tell him he wasn't real when he _felt_ real, he felt SO real...it wouldn't hurt so much if he wasn't real, "Can you help her? Is there anything you can do? Can you find Angel or something?" the Doctor had often said Angel saved people he couldn't.

"Yeah, probably, if I had the time," he stood up.

"The time?!" Rory exclaimed, not sure he heard the man correctly.

"All of creation has just been wiped from the sky," the Doctor turned around and walked a few paces away, "Do you know how many lives now never happened? All the people who never lived? Your girlfriend isn't more important than the whole Universe. And Angel w..."

Rory grabbed the Doctor and spun him around, punching him in the face, knocking him to the ground, "She is to _me_!"

Never in his life would he have imagined punching _the Doctor_ …but the utter lack of concern he showed not just for Amy but for Angel as well…God it was like he wasn't even _worried_ about the women! The TARDIS had exploded, Angel had likely been inside it, she might be gone, Amy WAS gone, and the Doctor was just making rude remarks and changing the topic! If it had been Amy in the TARDIS, he knew he wouldn't stop till he found her again, he'd let _nothing_ get in his way or stop him or distract him or...

He let out an angry breath, that was just it wasn't it? Angel wasn't Amy, and the Doctor wasn't him. But Angel was still the Doctor's people, still the last of their kind, and she was _pregnant_ for crying out loud! He'd seen how the Doctor had been around Elliot, he loved kids, and now one might be in quite a bit of danger! He took a breath, steeling himself to do something he _swore_ he wouldn't...he was going to break a promise to Angel.

If the Doctor knew about the baby, maybe he'd be more keen to help find out what had happened to Angel! Not that the man shouldn't already be willing to help since something was clearly wrong. But it seemed like he was avoiding thinking about that.

"Doctor..." Rory began, "I..."

But the Doctor just leapt to his feet with a laugh, "Welcome back, Rory Williams!" and spun to face him, cutting him off, "Sorry, had to be sure. Hell of a gun arm you're packing there. Right, we need to get her downstairs. And take that look off your plastic face. You're getting married in the morning!"

Rory frowned, watching the Doctor walk off with that stupid grin on his face, the one that made it seem like he thought all was right with the world, before turning to pick up Amy, thinking that, perhaps, he should have punched the Doctor twice.

~8~

The Doctor and Rory gently set Amy up in the Pandorica, "So you've got a plan, then?" Rory looked at him.

"Bit of a plan, yeah. Memories are more powerful than you think, and Amy Pond is not an ordinary girl. Grew up with a time crack in her wall. The Universe pouring through her dreams every night. The Nestenes took a memory print of her and got more than they bargained for. Like you. Not just your face, but your heart and your soul," he placed his hands on either side of Amy's face and closed his eyes, "I'm leaving her a message for when she wakes up, so she knows what's happening," he stepped back and soniced the Pandorica to close.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you doing?!"

"Saving her. This is the ultimate prison. You can't even escape by dying. It forces you to stay alive."

"But she's already dead!"

" _Mostly_ dead. The Pandorica can stasis-lock her that way. All it needs is a scan of her living DNA and it'll restore her."

"Where's it going to get that?"

The Doctor checked his watch, "In about 2,000 years."

~8~

Amy fell out of the Pandorica, on all fours, gasping heavily, "Are you alright?" Amelia asked, eyeing her a moment, "Who are you?"

She sat on the floor, panting a moment, "I'm...fine. I'm supposed to...rest. Got to rest, the Doctor says."

"What doctor?"

"He's in here," she tapped her head, "Left a message in my head like I'm an answer phone. Where am I?" she looked around, "Hang on. National Museum, right? I was here once when I was a little..." she looked at Amelia, realizing who she was talking to and exactly what was happening, "Yeah, complicated," she stood up and looked at Amelia, "Let's see, it's what..." she put her hand on Amelia's head, measuring her against her body, and then touched her hair a moment, "1996?" she walked around the room.

"Who _are_ you?"

"It's a long story," her eyes widened though, seeing a panel displaying the Pandorica's timeline, "A very _long_ story."

But then...something else caught her eye...there was a picture of a Roman Centurion and the box...and her heart stopped.

Rory.

~8~

The Doctor took the Vortex Manipulator from River's bag, grinning, pleased that the woman had left it there, it was _exactly_ what he needed. He started to strap it on, his mind drifting to Jack for a short moment, maybe, when this was all over, to make it up to Angel for letting her wander into the TARDIS, he'd take her to see Jack again.

"She's going to be in that box for 2,000 years?!" Rory cried, completely outraged by the Doctor's oh-so brilliant plan for Amy.

"Yeah, but we're taking a shortcut. River's Vortex Manipulator. Rubbish way to time travel, but the Universe is tiny now. We'll be fine so long as you don't tell Angel or the TARDIS we used it, they're very particular about TARDIS-travel and..."

"So the future's still there, then?" Rory cut in, knowing that the Doctor could ramble about that for a while and, as he kept reminding him, they didn't have the time, "Our world?"

"A version of it. Not quite the one you know. Earth alone in the sky. Let's go and have a look," he held his arm out, "You put your hand there. Don't worry, should be safe."

Rory just shook his head, "That's not what I'm worried about."

"She'll be _fine_ ," the Doctor rolled his eyes, "Nothing can get into this box."

" _You_ got in there."

"Well, there's only one of me. I counted."

"This box needs a guard. I killed the last one."

"No. Rory, no. Don't even think about it."

"She'll be all alone."

"She won't feel it."

"You bet she won't!"

" _2,000 years_ , Rory. You won't even sleep, you'd be conscious every second. It would drive you mad."

"Will she be safer if I stay?" Rory asked him, serious, "Look me in the eye and tell me she wouldn't be safer."

"Rory..."

"Answer me!"

"Yes. Obviously."

"Then how could I leave her?" Rory said simply.

The Doctor glanced over at the box at that...

~oOo~

_"I'd wait for you forever."_

_Angel smiled at that despite the lingering pain in her head, "Really?"_

_"Oh yeah."_

_She shifted, looking up at him, "You'd really wait as time moved slowly around you, just for me?"_

_"Mhmm."_

_"So..." she smirked a bit, moving to sit back, across from him, a playful look in her eye, "If I was trapped in the Pandorica for 2,000 years...you'd wait outside the box and guard it?"_

_The Doctor smiled at her, "The Pandorica's a myth."_

_"But would you?"_

_He nodded, leaning over to kiss her deeply, "I would wait more than just 2,000 years for you Nella," he whispered, resting his forehead to hers when he pulled away._

_She beamed, not pulling her head away either, "The man who waited," she murmured, "I'd wait for you too, you know."_

_"I'm glad," he laughed, giving her one more kiss before he pulled her closer, putting his other arm around her, just holding her as she snuggled up to him, enjoying the moment and the feeling of her in his arms, the TARDIS humming gently around them, "But, you know, neither of us would really have to wait for the other."_

_"How?"_

_He smiled, "Because I wouldn't leave you for a moment. If you were in that box, I'd be in there too, right there with you."_

_She laughed a bit, the vibrations of it sending shivers down his spine, "We'd be a bit cramped. I doubt it's as big on the inside as the TARDIS is. I'd probably be stuck on your lap for the rest of time!"_

_He chuckled at that too, "I have NO problem with that at all. You in my arms Nella, that's all I need for eternity. I'd be happy stuck in that box with you."_

~oOo~

There was something about that box...about the notion of someone being trapped in there...that made him feel...guilty, like...like he'd broken a promise. But what? When had the Pandorica even been brought up before now? Never. It was a myth!

He shook his head, he was wasting time, and turned back to Rory, "Why do you have to be so...human?"

"Because right now, I'm not," Rory shrugged, before frowning, no, it wasn't that. It was because Angel had once told him that the best part of him was his humanity, that it was the absolute best part of all her companions (all two of them) and that was just one _small_ part of what truly made him amazing.

He wasn't about to lose that.

He walked over to the other side of the Pandorica as the Doctor started setting the coordinates on the Manipulator, "Listen to me. This is the last bit of advice you're going to get in a _very_ long time. You're living plastic, but not immortal. I have no idea how long you'll last. And you're not indestructible. Stay away from heat and radio signals when they come along," Rory put on his helmet, "You can't heal, or repair yourself. Any damage is permanent. So, for God's sake, however bored you get, stay out of..."

He disappeared, leaving Rory alone.

Rory took a breath and pulled out his sword, sitting down on the edge of the Pandorica, ready for his long vigil.

~8~

"According to legend, wherever the Pandorica was taken, throughout its long history, the Centurion would be there, guarding it," a video played, presenting a visual of the Pandorica's guardian as Amy watched, silent, tears in her eyes, "He appears as an iconic image in the artwork of many cultures, and there are several documented accounts of his appearances and his warnings to the many who attempted to open the box before its time. His last recorded appearance was during the London Blitz in 1941. The warehouse where the Pandorica was stored was destroyed by incendiary bombs, but the box itself was found the next morning, a safe distance from the blaze. There are eyewitness accounts from the night of the fire of a figure in Roman dress, carrying the box from the flames," a tear fell from Amy's eye, the Doctor's message had told her about Rory, what happened, what he 'was' now, plastic...plastic and heat...well, she knew from moments when Mels went through a hair dressing stage that Barbies and very hot blow driers did NOT work well, "Since then, there have been no sightings of the Lone Centurion, and many have speculated that, if he ever existed, he perished in the fires of that night, performing one last act of devotion to the box he had pledged to protect for nearly 2,000 years."

"Rory," she shook her head, her heart starting to beat again, only to break, "Oh, Rory."

"Exterminate!"

Amy and Amelia spun around to see a _Dalek_ move towards them from another room, "What's that?" Amelia gasped.

Amy just jumped into action, running back to her and pushing little Amelia behind her as the Dalek advanced.

"Exterminate!"

Just then the Doctor appeared between the Amys and the Dalek, "...trouble," he looked up to see the Dalek, "Oh!" and then Amy and Amelia, " _Two_ of you? Complicated."

"Exterminate! Weapons systems restoring."

The Doctor rushed over, taking Amy and Amelia by the hand and leading them off, "Come along, Ponds!" and ran back behind the Pandorica for cover.

"Exterminate!"

He stopped at an alcove behind it, displaying North Africa, stumbling into one of the mannequins and catching the fez that fell off its head, "What are we doing?" Amy panted.

"Running into a dead end, where I'll have a brilliant plan, that basically involves not being in one," he answered.

"What's going on?" a man called.

The Doctor peeked around to see a night watchman appear with a torch, "Get out of here," he called to the man, "Go! Just run!"

The Dalek turned to the watchman, "Drop the device."

"It's not a weapon! Scan it. It's not a weapon, and you don't have the power to waste!"

"Scans indicate intruder unarmed."

"Do you think?" the watchman dropped the torch, his hand dropping open as well to reveal a gun which he fired right at the Dalek's eyestalk.

"Vision impaired! Vision..."

The watchman stepped out of the shadows, into the light, to reveal himself as Rory! He watched the Dalek carefully as its energy drained, the Doctor running around the Pandorica his sonic ready, Amy behind him, only to stop short at the sight, "Amy?" Rory's eyes widened.

"Rory!" Amy ran over to him and hugged him tightly.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. It just happened."

"Oh, shut up," she kissed him.

"Yeah, shut up, 'cos we've _got_ to _go_ ," the Doctor came up between them, "Come on!"

He was starting to get antsy now, he'd teleported there because that would be the only time Amelia would exist for Amy to get the living DNA, and now that Amy was free and sorted, the next thing on the list was finding Angel and the TARDIS, and their kissing and not moving was NOT helping him. He'd been...tense, since Rory brought up that Angel wasn't there when he'd been freed from the Pandorica. It was like...everything in him wanted him to find her and make sure she was ok, but there was just so much else going on that needed seeing to as well. So he'd tried to sort it as best he could, give it a quick (relatively speaking) fix so that it could wait till he'd gotten Angel and River back.

"I waited," Rory whispered to Amy, "2,000 years, I waited for you."

"No, still shut up," and then Amy pulled him into a longer kiss.

"And break!" the Doctor tried, "And breathe! Well, somebody didn't get out much for 2,000 years."

Amelia tugged on his sleeve, "I'm thirsty. Can I get a drink?"

"Oh, it's all mouths today, isn't it?!" he put the fez on her head but she shoved it back at him. He glanced over at the Dalek, "The light! The light from the Pandorica, it must have hit the Dalek…" his eyes widened, seeing the Dalek start to move, "Out, out, out!" he turned and ushered them out of the room, Amy and Rory running first as he grabbed Amelia's hand. Rory ran out, closing the door behind them as the Doctor soniced the lock, "So, 2,000 years," he looked at Rory, "How did you do?"

"Kept out of trouble."

"Oh," he put the fez on his head, realizing he was still holding it, "How?"

"Unsuccessfully," he looked over as the Doctor picked up a mop to help block the door and pointed at him, "The mop! That's how you looked all those years ago when you gave me the sonic."

"Ah! Well, no time to lose then," he activated the Manipulator and disappeared...only to reappear a few moments later, "Oops, sorry," he shoved the mop to block the door.

"How can he do that?" Amelia asked Amy, "Is he magic?"

The Doctor disappeared again and reappeared with a clap of his hands, "Right, let's go then…" he headed up the stairs and stopped, "Wait! Now I don't have the sonic, I just gave it Rory 2,000 years ago…" he tapped the Manipulator once more...and reappeared again, "Right then," he reached into Amy's pocket and pulled out the sonic, "Off we go! No, hang on," and then turned to Amelia, which made Rory roll his eyes, he was thrilled Amy was ok, but _now_ he was starting to worry about Angel again...and that River woman. He'd tried to keep his eyes and ears out over the years for any hint that they had gotten out or survived, but...nothing, "How did you know to come here?" Amelia reached into her coat pocket and pulled out the pamphlet and the sticky note, "Ah, my handwriting. Ok!" he rushed over to a stand and grabbed a pamphlet and a note off the desk, writing on it quickly and disappearing to drop the pamphlet into Amelia's mail slot and then leave the note on the Pandorica, swiping Amelia's drink away as well. He reappeared and handed Amelia her drink back, "There you go, drink up!"

"What is that?" Amy frowned, rushing over to him, "How are you doing that?"

"Vortex Manipulator..." he held up his wrist, "Cheap and nasty time travel. Very bad for you. I'm trying to give it up."

"Where are we going?"

"The roof!" he turned, about to head up the stairs once more...

When a swirl of golden energy appeared at the top of the steps.

A moment later...Angel appeared within it, her dress dirty and smoking before she fell to her knees, narrowly managing to avoid falling down the stairs as she slumped onto her side on the floor. The Doctor's eyes widened as he ran up to her, checking on her.

"That's Angel!" Rory cried, his eyes wide, wanting to rush up and help the Doctor but Amy grabbed him, holding onto him, completely startled and devastated at the sight before her and needing comfort.

"What happened to her?" Amy's eyes filled with tears, seeing her friend in such a state.

"It's Angel," the Doctor nodded, already able to tell it wasn't quite the Angel they were looking for though, "But a future one," Angel's eyes blinked open and she weakly reached up to tug his lapel. He leaned forward, allowing her to whisper in his ear before her head lulled to the side.

"Is she…I mean, is she dead?" Amy asked cautiously, seeing the Doctor just...staring at Angel's...body.

"What?" the Doctor blinked, standing, before saying the words that made Rory feel like he'd been punched in the gut, "Dead? Yes, yes. Of course she's dead."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wait till we see Rory's reaction in the next chapter :)
> 
> Lol, I know a few of you were curious to why Angel did that with the TARDIS, why she didn't teleport out, and why River actually tried to stop her...all will be revealed (and hopefully make sense lol) in the next chapter ;)


	43. The Big Bang: An Exploding TARDIS

The Doctor cast one more look at Angel's body before he turned to head off, "Right, we've got 12 minutes, that's good."

"12 minutes to what?" Amy demanded, shaking her head, actually starting to feel...angry with the man, "Till she's _killed_? How is that _good_?!"

True, she and Angel hadn't had the easiest relationship, for some reason, at first, it was strained. But, oddly enough, after losing Rory, they'd bonded. She knew that Angel and the Doctor remembered Rory when she hadn't, but she'd still felt that loss. Perhaps that was why she and Angel had spent time together, Angel had lost her companion and she had lost her fiancé, both very devastating losses, both of them had needed comfort and understanding. The Doctor had likely never had a companion erased from existence before so really only Angel would understand how that felt. She was glad for it though, because it had let her and Angel strike up a long overdue friendship. And now the Doctor, the same man who went...mad really...whenever Angel wasn't there or when she was hurt...was just...walking away, unperturbed.

What was wrong with him?

"You can do loads in 12 minutes..." the Doctor shrugged, "Suck a mint, buy a sledge, have a fast bath. Come on, the roof!"

"We can't leave her here, dead!" Rory shouted, rushing up to grab the Doctor's arm, pulling him back and turning the man around, glaring at him with tear-filled eyes. He glanced back at Angel's body, lying there, unmoving, disgust at the Doctor for his complete disregard of her filling him. In his mind, he couldn't think of a single reason for the Doctor to be so cavalier about just walking away. He felt bile rise in his throat at just the _thought_ of leaving Angel's body, the body of his pilot, just laying there, rotting on the floor! How could he leave her?

"Oh, good! Are you in charge now?" the Doctor yanked his arm away, his jaw tensing at how they were questioning him, looking at him like he was a monster for wanting to get out of there. It hurt, quite a bit really, to know they didn't trust him, trust that he was doing this for a reason. They didn't know what Angel had whispered to him, they didn't know what needed to be done, what Angel had asked him to do, and what he would do, for her, he really would do anything for her. It was why he'd taken her to Jack when all he'd wanted to do was keep her in the box, it was why he never won the arguments against what she wanted, like staying in the woods with Amy or to go to the TARDIS with River, in the end, it was what she wanted and he very much doubted he could say no to her...

~oOo~

_"You must know, even without an emotional connection, you must realize how...attracted I am to you," he blushed faintly as she smiled, oh she certainly did, and it was quite fun to tease him a bit about it, "More than anyone has right to be with another," he added with a small laugh, "I already want to be with you, more than anything and...I'm not sure if I'll be able to hold off till the connection's formed. I'm afraid I'm not strong enough to resist you if we start the bond..."_

_She let out a small musical laugh that made him smile for hearing it, "YOU?" she poked him in the chest, "Not strong enough? You're the strongest man I know."_

_"But the source of my strength is also my greatest weakness," he reminded her, but she seemed confused, "YOU," he told her, "I'm stronger because of YOU Nella. I think faster, I move quicker, I feel stronger because I'm protecting you. But..." he looked at her with a small frown, "If anything ever happened to you...I'd be a wreck. I...I wouldn't be able to function, to focus, to keep myself safe, I'd...I wouldn't want to..."_

_"Theta," she breathed._

_"And I could never say no to you," he smiled again, "I DO want that emotional connection to you Nella, I truly do. So you," he tapped her on the nose, "Had better be strong enough for the both of us because I doubt I'll be able to resist you for long."_

_She laughed, "I'll try my best then."_

_"Brilliant," he laughed as well, pulling her in to give her a sound kiss._

~oOo~

He shook his head, feeling a throbbing in it, his head starting to hurt, like a pressure was building, "So, tell me, what are we going to do about Amelia?"

Rory looked back to see young Amelia was gone, her cup lying on the floor, but the girl nowhere in sight, "Where did she go?" Amy looked around.

"Amelia?" Rory called.

"There is no Amelia," the Doctor said, "From now on, there never was. History is still collapsing."

"How can I be here, if she's not?" Amy shook her head.

"You're an anomaly. We all are. We're all hanging on at the eye of the storm, but the eye is closing, and if we don't do something, reality will never have happened. Today, just dying is a result. Now, come on!" he turned and headed off.

Rory shook his head at the Doctor, glaring at his retreating back, his hands closing into fists, before he swallowed and turned sharply, heading in the opposite direction, moving to kneel by Angel's side. Amy walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder as she looked down at Angel's prone form, knowing how much this had to hurt Rory, Angel was HIS Pilot, "She won't die. Time can be rewritten. The Doctor'll find a way to save her. I know he will."

Rory solemnly nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat and pulled his jacket off, laying it over her, his heart breaking for her, for her and her baby, it looked like she had been attacked, and...there was no way the baby would have survived that given what Angel had said about her family history. He closed his eyes, squeezing his nose with his forefinger and thumb for a moment, he'd done this, 2,000 years ago, he'd covered Amy's dead body with a blanket, 2,000 years later, it was a gesture that still hurt to do.

He promised himself silently, he'd be back, he'd come back for her, he wouldn't leave her like the Doctor had, not ever, "I'll come back," he whispered to her, about to rest his hand on hers, just peeking out from his jacket...

When the Doctor snapped at them from a distance, "Move it! Come on!"

Amy squeezed Rory's shoulder again and took his hand, helping him up before she tugged him off, up the stairs, after the Doctor.

~8~

The Doctor climbed out of a stairwell and onto the roof of the museum, Amy and Rory rushing after him as he stalked across the flat surface. He'd gone quiet when they'd started to follow him, quiet and tense, hunching a bit as he walked, a walk Amy recognized from when Angel had been in Torchwood, and she was honestly starting to get a little worried for him. She knew Angel was the last of his kind but for the girl to have SUCH a profound affect on his countenance when she wasn't even there...there had to be something else to their relationship, there had to be.

"What, it's morning already?" Amy looked around, squinting as she saw the daylight, "How did _that_ happen?"

"History is shrinking," the Doctor replied, adding a bit of a huff to his words, "Is anybody listening to me?" he hated repeating himself when time was of the essence, "Universe is collapsing. We don't have much time left," he walked over to a satellite dish and soniced it.

"What are you doing?" Rory asked.

"Looking for the TARDIS."

"But the TARDIS exploded," he shook his head, it seemed the Doctor really _had_ let Angel go into the about-to-explode box then. He was starting to think that the Doctor had gotten it wrong, that it wasn't a future Angel they'd seen on the stairs but that...maybe she'd teleported out of the box a bit too late, had gotten caught in the explosion, the controls going wonky, and sending her though time and space to just then. It was a stretch but...he never understood how a lot of things happened when the Doctor was involved.

"Ok, then." the Doctor rolled his eyes, "I'm looking for an exploding TARDIS," he pulled the dish off its mounting with a bit too much force, not that he was really concerned about that, he had a suspicion, one he needed confirmation of if there was any hope of saving Angel.

"I don't understand," Amy frowned, "So, the TARDIS blew up and took the Universe with it. Why would it do that? How?"

The Doctor stood on a raised section of the roof, "Good question for another day. But for now...total event collapse means that every star in the Universe never happened. Not one of them ever shone. So, if all the stars that ever were, are gone, then what is _that_?" he pointed to a large ball of fire in the sky, the only thing providing light, "Like I said, I'm looking for an exploding TARDIS."

"But that's the sun," Rory shook his head.

"Is it? Here's the noise that sun is making right now," he held up the dish and amplified the sound with the sonic, allowing them to hear the TARDIS wheezing, "That's my TARDIS burning up. _That's_ what's been keeping the Earth warm."

"Doctor, there's something else," Rory closed his eyes, trying to make it out, "There's a voice..."

The Doctor frowned and adjusted the settings.

"I can't hear anything," Amy remarked.

"Trust the plastic."

The Doctor held the dish back up to hear someone counting, "5,972,918,484…5,972,918,485…5,972,918,486…"

"Doctor," Amy gasped, her eyes wide in horror, "That's Angel!"

"What's she doing?" Rory shook his head, though he nearly breathed a sigh of relief at hearing Angel was alive, if still in the TARDIS, because that meant the Angel they saw on the stairs really was a future version...and if they knew she got hurt, then there was still a chance to save her, to keep her and the baby from getting hurt, "Why's she counting?"

"Of course, the Emergency Protocols..." the Doctor breathed, realizing what had happened, "The TARDIS has sealed off the control room and put her into a time loop to save her. She is right at the heart of the explosion…only…"

"Only what?" Amy asked, feeling a sense of dread fill her at how he stiffened, his face turning into one of horror.

"A human wouldn't notice the loop, they'd just relive the moment. A Time Lord though, they would be aware of it, of their impeding death and the explosion. She's feeling it happen every time!"

"Then get up there!" Amy shrieked.

The Doctor hit the Manipulator and disappeared.

Rory couldn't help but actually let out a breath as his eyes widened. Angel was in the heart of the explosion, feeling it happen over and over…it seemed he hadn't been the only one to last 2,000 years on his own. He could only pray the Doctor would be able to get in there and get her out.

~8~

Angel sat on the floor of the control room, leaning back against the console, her legs tucked to her side for the moment, "5,972,918,487…" she closed her eyes as the explosion hit her back, her hands forever on her stomach.

~8~

Angel sat on the floor of the control room, leaning back against the console, her legs tucked to her side for the moment, "5,972,918,488…" she closed her eyes as the explosion hit her back, tensing as it happened again.

~8~

"5 bil…" Angel began...

When she looked up startled to see the Doctor standing by the door, the Manipulator strapped to his wrist, "We have to go now!" he shouted, running over to her, helping her up.

"Wait!" she pulled away and quickly hit a button on the console.

"…dare teleport me out of here Angel!" River shouted as she reappeared in the TARDIS. She blinked, frowning, confused, when she saw the Doctor standing there too, "Doctor?"

"No time!" he held out his wrist to them just as the loop began again, the console exploding behind them...

~8~

The Doctor reappeared on the roof with Angel and River, "Angel!" Amy cheered, moving forward to hug the Time Lady tightly.

"…and the plastic Centurion?" River eyed Rory.

"It's ok," the Doctor waved her off, trying to tug Amy away from Angel, "He's on our side."

But Angel just turned to Rory, "Rory!" and hugged him as well.

"How are you?" Rory asked her quietly, hugging her tightly, "You ok?"

There was a hidden meaning there, she knew, he wasn't just asking about her. She nodded.

"Yes, good question Rory!" the Doctor reached out and tugged Angel away from him, "Are you ok Angel?" he held up the sonic, about to scan her, but Angel quickly grabbed it, looking just slightly panicked as she did so.

"Fine!" she said quickly, twisting the sonic in her hands to stop it scanning her, the _last_ thing she needed was for her pregnancy to be broadcast right then. Thankfully the explosion in the TARDIS had only hit her back, repeating a moment before it completely engulfed her. It strained the TARDIS to continue on such a loop, but that was the Emergency Protocols in action, they were meant to preserve life, so the explosion never fully hit her, but just kept repeating like a terrible heat against her back before it started again.

"Right, good, then, next question...WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?" the Doctor suddenly shouted, making them all, even River, jump...well, everyone except Angel as she had been expecting that, both from being psychic and feeling his turbulent and terrified emotions at that moment and just...knowing him.

"Doctor..."

"You knew, you HAD to have seen that happening and you went into the TARDIS?!"

"In all fairness," Rory cut in, "YOU _let_ her go..."

"Shut up Rory!" he Doctor snapped, rounding on him a moment, till the man held up his hands in surrender and stepped back, actually a bit afraid of the deadly glare the Doctor was directing at him, before he turned back to Angel, "Angel it was _exploding_! It was _going to explode_ and you knew you couldn't stop it, didn't you?"

"I...had a fairly good idea," she whispered.

"What on Earth possessed you to DO that!?"

Amy and Rory shifted, watching the Doctor actually _shouting_ at Angel, but they could both tell he was extremely worried about her. He'd been on a warpath to get to the roof to check on the TARDIS before. And they had a suspicion that the Angel on the stairs had warned him about this, hinted at it, so he'd be able to get her out of the box. His drive to get there made sense now, why he'd left Future Angel there to save Past Angel, it had to be a terrible decision to make and Rory found himself hoping he never ever had to make one like that.

River Song, on the other hand, frowned in irritation as she watched the Time Lords have a moment, no matter if it was a shouty one. The Doctor only ever got THAT worked up when he was truly scared or hurt or angry and she knew he was worried and scared for Angel, that much was VERY clear. She should have known in the TARDIS, she really should have. She knew what sort of person Angel was, what to expect, she should have realized earlier that Angel would teleport HER out to keep her 'safe' at her own expense. But she'd only worked that out when she'd seen Angel at the controls and she knew what it would mean for them both in the future...because now, because of that, the Doctor was fawning and fretting over the _Time Lady_. It was disgusting. If it had been HER in the TARDIS, he'd be just as worried about her, she was sure, he'd be fretting and focusing on HER instead. It SHOULD be HER he was focused on.

Angel always had to get in the way didn't she?

"I _had_ to," Angel told him.

"Why?!" he shook his head, not seeming to believe that.

"Because that explosion wouldn't have lasted as long as it has without the TARDIS looping it!" she explained, "It would have just exploded, none of us would be here, and Amy would be dead. Without someone in the console room that the Emergency Programs needed to protect, the explosion would be over. I paused it. I gave you time."

The Doctor blinked, straightening.

He...hadn't thought of that.

It was true, the _only_ reason the Earth was still there for so long, millennia after the explosion, was because the TARDIS was there, acting like the sun, and the TARDIS was only there because it had been on loop. Because Angel had been in it. He closed his eyes, he didn't even have to ask (as terrible as it was to suggest) why she hadn't gotten herself out and left River there. Angel would never risk another person's life and...River wasn't a Time Lady. River would have been caught in the loop, unaware of what was happening, living the same moment without a clue...she wouldn't have been able to activate the teleport to bring Angel back. But Angel was aware, she had everything ready to get River out and back and keep the TARDIS going.

"Time that is slowly running out," Angel continued, pulling him from his thoughts, swallowing and not contradicting his thoughts.

He was right, for the most part, that she'd done it because she wouldn't want to trap anyone else there, but also...she didn't trust River, not this version of her, not at all, she didn't trust that, if she'd teleported out, stuck in the in between space for that spilt second that was millennia in the real world, that River would teleport her back. She had a fear that River would have just left her there, floating in a single moment of eternity and not bothered to get her back. That was where River had been, not in a time looped moment, but in between teleports...like in the Library, frozen in a moment in time, and then restored as though nothing had happened, which it hadn't. It was like when the Doctor had been taken by the Reapers, he'd disappeared, to her it had been the longest moments of her life, but to him one second he was there and then the next he was back but the room and people had changed.

"The Emergency Protocols will shut down now that we're out of the console room," she added, "The explosion has resumed. We've got minutes, 7 minutes left before it completes."

"That is...genius," the Doctor breathed, blinking as he smiled at her, "Stone cold brilliant," he started to laugh, "How did you think of that?"

"It's a TARDIS," she shrugged, modest, though the others could see a faint blush on her cheeks at the compliment.

"You know I dated a Nestene Duplicate once..." River remarked, eyeing Rory as she cut into the moment, seeing the Doctor's gaze on Angel starting to grow soft and NOT about to let that happen. She'd worked too hard to let that happen, "Swappable head, it did keep things fresh. Right then," she continued as they all looked at her, now paying attention, "I have questions. But number one is this...what in the name of sanity have you got on your head?" she turned to the Doctor.

It was then that Angel noticed the Doctor had a fez on.

"It's a fez," he replied, "I wear a fez now. Fezzes are cool."

With a look from River, Amy grabbed the fez and threw it into the sky, River shooting it in midair, all their gazes following it's flight...except Angel, who found her attention lowering to the ledge of the roof with a frown.

"Oh!" he pouted.

"Run!" Angel shouted suddenly, a tremor of fear in her voice as she shoved them. They looked at her curiously when…

"Exterminate!"

Their eyes widened and they immediately ran as the Dalek levitated up the side of the building, "Run, run, move, move!" the Doctor called, about to use the satellite like a shield as the Dalek fired...only for the blasts to hit a golden wall, Angel with her arm behind her to keep it up, "Go! Come on!" he grabbed her hand and pulled her on, the wall lowering as they reached the stairwell...

~8~

The Doctor soniced the hatch of the stairwell as soon as they were down, River stood with her gun aimed at it just in case, Rory, Angel, and Amy by the wall, Rory holding Amy's hand though he had his other arm around Angel's shoulders, the girl was shaking terribly, probably because of the Dalek attack...or the explosions she'd just endured, or both.

"Doctor, come on," River hissed.

"Shh," he cut in, listening intently to the top of the hatch, "It's moving away, finding another way in," he climbed down the ladder, "It needs to restore its power before it can attack again. Now, that means we've got exactly…" he checked his watch.

"Four and a half minutes before it's at lethal capacity," he continued down the stairs.

"How do you know?"

"Because that's when it's due to…" he swallowed hard, trailing off, casing a glance at Angel that he hoped she didn't notice.

Angel though, did, and frowned at it...until she flinched...seeing a snippet of her appearing in a flash of gold at the top of a set of stairs in his mind, her clothes singed before collapsing. She let out a breath and shook her head, looking down.

It wasn't a vision...it was a memory. It was the Doctor's memory...

"Due to what?!" River looked at him with concern, seeing the solemn look in his eyes and fearing the worst for him.

"Oh, shut up, never mind," he waved her off, not wanting to have to tell Angel what was coming, it didn't seem like the girl had seen it yet and he wasn't going to let that hang over her head, he...he was going to try and stop it, "How can that Dalek even exist?" he muttered to himself, trying to work it out as they walked into a hallway, "It was erased from time and then it came back."

"So did Rory," Angel whispered, shaking her head, trying to not sound like she knew what was going to happen.

"Yes, but that was a memory impression from Amy. How did the _Dalek_ come back?"

"You said the light from the Pandorica..." Rory began as they entered one of the exhibit halls.

"It's not a light, it's a restoration field, but never mind. Call it a light. That light brought Amy back, but how could it bring back a Dalek when the Daleks have never existed?"

"Ok, tell us," Amy said.

"When the TARDIS blew up, it caused a total event collapse..."

"A time explosion," Angel added, seeing Rory struggle a bit to keep up and Amy frowning as she tried to follow.

"Yes," the Doctor nodded, "It blasted every atom in every moment of the Universe. Except..."

"Except the atoms that were trapped in the Pandorica."

"The perfect prison. Inside it, perfectly preserved, a few billion atoms of the Universe as it was. In theory, you could extrapolate the whole Universe from a single one of them, like cloning a body from a single cell. And we've got the bumper family pack."

"I think I got most of that, "Rory shook his head.

Angel smiled at him for that, "The Pandorica holds a memory of the Universe, like Amy's mind held a memory of you," Angel explained a little more to him, "The light of the Pandorica is like a big transmitter, broadcasting it out."

"And that's how we're going to do it," the Doctor nodded, grinning widely at how it felt to have someone keep up with him, and Angel said she wasn't clever.

"Do what?" Amy frowned.

"Relight the fire! Reboot the Universe. Come on!" he walked briskly down the hall, not noticing Angel slow, a pit forming in her stomach once again as a terrible feeling of dread hit her.

"Doctor, you're being completely ridiculous," River shook her head, following him, "The Pandorica _partially_ restored _one_ Dalek. If it can't even reboot a single life form properly, how will it reboot the whole of reality?" she reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping him, making him turn to her in one of the halls.

"What if we give it a moment of infinite power? Transmit the light from the Pandorica to every particle of space and time simultaneously?"

Angel looked over, down the hall, staring at it as though expecting something to be there...

"Well, that would be lovely, dear, but we can't, because it's completely impossible."

"Ah, no, you see, it's not," he tapped his forehead, "It's ALMOST completely impossible. One spark is all we need."

"For what?"

"Big Bang Two! Now listen..." and suddenly he was cut off...

By someone shoving into him forcefully.

He landed on the ground with an 'oomph,' looking up to see Angel blasted back by a Dalek's laser.

"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

The Doctor scrambled to his feet and rushed to her side as she rolled onto her back, completely ignoring the Dalek behind him as he frantically tried to examine her, not even thinking to use the sonic in his worry. Rory pulled Amy out of the way, around a corner as they were nearest to it, and aimed his gun hand at the Dalek. River ducked behind an exhibit but aimed at the Dalek as well, more because the Doctor was still out there in the line of fire, "Get back!" River shouted at him, "Doctor, get back now!"

"Exterminate!"

Rory fired on it, managing to hit it's eyestalk again, making it pause, it's energy depleting a moment.

"Angel," the Doctor grabbed her hand, panting as he clutched it tightly, his knuckles nearly turning white as his hearts raced, his blood running cold, his mind...just completely blank of anything but what Angel had done, "Angel, it's me, the Doctor. Angel why did you do that!?"

She blinked up at him, "I've died nearly 6 billion times, once more won't hurt."

And she really didn't know. It just...happened. She hadn't even thought to use the Vortex to block the attack just...ran. She understood now what the Doctor had meant when he'd broken the window of Magpie's shop instead of using the sonic to unlock it. He hadn't thought, his concern for her had just...addled his mind, made him react first, the quickest way to get her out of danger. And that's what happened to her, she was close enough to react...and she just...had...

And it was stupid! It was SO stupid of her. She should have used the Vortex, she should have done something besides this, blasted the Dalek with Vortex energy like she had the screen with the Weeping Angel, brought up a wall like she'd done only minutes ago, shouted at him to duck, _anything_ but this...

Because it _hurt_.

Her _stomach_ hurt.

Oh that was not good at all, was it?

She closed her eyes, trying not to cry at what that could mean, her stomach really, _really_ hurt!

What was wrong with her? Was she just trying to punish herself more? Make herself completely alone in the Universe? What sort of woman, what sort of pregnant woman, condemned herself to an explosion and then got blasted by a deadly laser without even a thought to her unborn child?! True she had only a small hope (and a rather desperate need) that the baby would survive, that everything would be ok, a big stretch given her family's luck with pregnancy. It was a completely unrealistic hope, she knew that, one that would just hurt her so much later when she lost the baby. But this?! To do this?! Why would she do that to her baby? She hadn't even thought about it, she'd seen the Dalek, she'd seen the Doctor, she'd seen it fired and...ran...

"It was my turn don't you think?" the Doctor whispered, trying to smile, trying to make her smile somehow, because the tears in her eyes when she looked at him were _killing_ him. She looked completely devastated and in terrible pain and it hurt him _so much_ to see her like that, to know she'd done it for _him_.

She shook her head, "A brilliant Time Lord or an average Time Lady? The Universe needs you more, it always will…" she groaned, closing her eyes tightly as the golden energy of the Vortex swirled around her and she disappeared, literally faded away before him, his hand clenching into a fist as her hand disappeared from its grip, leaving him just staring at the floor.

The Doctor's eyes widened in horror at what had happened, working out where Angel had gone and why she seemed so pained to do it, the Vortex took a lot out of her when she wasn't ready to use it. Even more now that she was injured.

"Where did she go?" River shouted, this was NOT what they needed, a wild goose chase for a missing and injured Time Lady with a Dalek after them! The Doctor would be a wreck till they found Angel again, she knew, entirely too focused on getting to her, so focused that nothing she could do would distract him and that was NOT what she wanted.

"Downstairs," the Doctor said, "12 minutes ago."

"She died," Amy added, River looking over at her with wide eyes, but actually seeming to frown at that.

Rory swallowed hard, he'd thought he'd have more time to save her, to work out what had happened to hurt her and prevent it.

"Systems restoring!" the Dalek cried, "You will be exterminated!"

"We've got to move!" Rory shouted, "That thing's coming back to life."

The Doctor shook his head, bringing himself back to the present, tot he moment and matter at hand, "We need to go now!" he jumped up and ran off, grabbing River's arm as he passed, and pulled her back towards Rory and Amy.

"You will be exterminated!"

"Rory come on!" he yelled when Rory made no move to follow them.

"I'll be there in a moment," he said, before dashing around the corner... _towards_ the Dalek!

"Rory!" Amy cried, running after him.

"You know?" Rory glared at the Dalek, moving to stand right in front of it, his shoulders squared, his eyes narrowed, "I think Angel may have known this would happen 'cos she told me, all about you, Daleks. How you work, how your shields work," and she had, the very first night he'd come aboard the TARDIS, she'd told him about the Daleks, "Right now your systems are still restoring. And that means your shield is weak," he aimed his gun, "One shot, just one, through your eyestalk would stop you permanently."

"Records indicate you will show mercy," the Dalek scanned him with its sucker arm, "You are an associate of the Doctor's."

Rory glared a bit more at that, "I'm _Angel's_ companion. And you just _killed_ her," and with that, he fired his gun-hand, striking the Dalek straight though the eyestalk. And then, the next thing he knew, Amy was in his arms, kissing him deeply.

"Oi!" the Doctor shouted, "You two, we need to go _now_!" he turned and ran down the hall, the two running after him and River hand in hand.

~8~

They ran down the stairs to the main lobby, Amy and Rory stopping short, seeing Angel's body was gone. Rory's jacket was there but the body was gone, "How could she have moved?!" Rory shook his head.

"She was dead!" Amy agreed.

"Who told you that?" River looked over at them as they ran down the stairs. That was why Amy's words before had confused her. THIS was NOT where Angel or the Doctor died, she knew for a fact it wasn't here, so why had they claimed that Angel had died?

"I did," the Doctor said, turning down the corridor, not even stopping as he stormed on, oh after this was over he and Angel were going to have a serious talk.

River smirked and glanced at Amy and Rory, "Rule one. The Doctor lies. You want the truth, you ask Angel."

~8~

They ran down another exhibit hall, towards the Pandorica room, Amy gasping when she saw what was waiting within.

Angel was sitting inside the larger, yet surprisingly smaller-on-the-inside, box, her dress dirty and torn, slumped over to the side, her head resting against the side of one of the restraints. She was pale naturally but seemed even more so now and the eerie green glow of the box wasn't helping any. She looked...so small, given her flowy dress and the size of the box, so small and hurt and weak and just...tired...She couldn't imagine how much strength it had taken for Angel to, alone, get up and drag herself over there and do...whatever it was she was doing to the box as she had a screwdriver, an ordinary one, in her hand.

"Angel!" Amy shouted, running over to her with Rory, but the Doctor beat them to it, kneeling before her, checking her quickly.

"Why did you tell us she was _dead_?!" Rory demanded, his heart racing. Why would anyone tell a lie like that? Why would anyone lie ABOUT that?

"We were a diversion," River realized, shaking her head as she worked it out, "As long as the Dalek was chasing us, she could work down here."

"And she knew we'd be safe because she was there with us when it attacked," Amy breathed, knowing Angel wouldn't let anyone be used as bait unless she was there with them, protecting them, like she had just before.

"Angel," the Doctor whispered, reaching up to cup her face in his hands, his thumbs lightly stroking her cheeks, trying to wake her, not seeing River's jaw clench at his 'sweet' action or the fact he was ignoring the conversation behind him in his focus on the girl, "Can you hear me? What were you doing?"

Angel blearily opened her eyes and looked at him a moment, searching for something in his eyes, her expression falling a bit when she didn't see what it was. She winced, reaching feebly for his hand, he let her take it, watching as she weakly pulled off the Manipulator and cracked it open, shifting in the chair to work on hooking up the wires she'd released an cut to it.

"What's happening?" Rory looked up, alarmed, as the explosion in the sky got bigger, able to hear the wheezing noise now with his plastic hearing even without the satellite amplifying it.

"Reality's collapsing," River replied, not looking up, instead closely watching the Doctor watch Angel, "It's speeding up. Look at this room."

"Where did everything go?" Amy looked around to see the displays empty.

"History is being erased. Time is running out now that the explosion has resumed," she frowned, watching as Angel finished hooking up the Manipulator and sat back, panting at the effort, "What was she doing?"

"Big Bang Two," the Doctor replied grimly, not even noticing when he took Angel's hand and held it, though, by River's pursing lips, _she_ noticed.

"The Big Bang," Rory frowned, "That's the beginning of the Universe, right?"

"What, and Big Bang Two is the bang that brings it back?" Amy asked, "Is that what you mean?"

"The TARDIS is still burning," the Doctor explained softly, reaching out his free hand to brush a lock of hair from Angel's head, there was a thin layer of sweat on her brow and he could feel a fever setting, "It's exploding at every point in history. If you threw the Pandorica into the explosion, right into the heart of the fire..."

"Then what?"

"Then let there be light," River realized, "The light from the Pandorica would explode everywhere at once, just like he said."

"That would work? That would bring everything back?"

Rory looked down, feeling the breath leave him...because he could see Angel's other hand resting on her stomach as her face scrunched in a pain he'd seen on a few women's faces in the hospital. The baby...something was wrong with it, she'd been fired at by a Dalek, it hit her, he'd seen it hit her, he felt his heart stop at the thought of what that meant for the baby.

"A restoration field, powered by an exploding TARDIS, happening at every moment in history," the Doctor replied.

"Oh, that's brilliant," River breathed, "It might even work!"

The Doctor frowned, squinting at the Manipulator, "She's wired the Vortex Manipulator to the rest of the box."

"Why?" Amy asked.

"She's going to fly the Pandorica into the heart of the explosion," River replied as though it should be obvious.

"No, she isn't," the Doctor shook his head, reaching in to try and tug Angel out of the box, "I will."

"No," Angel struggled, her eyes snapping open, surprisingly managing to remain _in_ the box despite the Doctor's pulling and her own weariness.

"Angel," he shook his head, "You're too weak to fly it! Get out and _I'll_ do it."

"No!" she just shoved him back a bit, "The Universe _needs_ you!" she shouted, her voice hoarse, tears in her eyes, "It doesn't need me. Not anymore."

What was the point in her? The only thing in the Universe that might need her...might very well be gone. She'd gone numb, but she could feel the pain in her stomach just increasing more and more. No one needed her anymore. Her family had their real families, Rory had Amy, and the Doctor...

The Doctor looked at her, complete shocked she would say that, "Angel please…" he whispered, his hearts breaking, "I…I don't want to be alone."

Angel swallowed hard, her glance flickering to River for just a split second, closing her eyes when she saw the woman smirk, "You won't be."

He blinked and suddenly he...

~oOo~

_He was standing at a computer terminal, glaring at River Song, "I DON'T need YOU professor Song," he looked at her, showing her the truth in his eyes, making her flinch, making her breath hitch at the words._

_He really didn't need her, did he?_

_As though reading her thoughts, he continued, "The only one I need, the only one I will EVER need, is that girl right there," he pointed to Angel, "My Mate, my Angel. Not you," he stared at her long and hard, "I'm sorry professor Song, but it will never be you."_

_And with that, he turned back to the terminal._

_River swallowed hard, despite his words, despite how they hurt to hear, she couldn't let him do this, "Doctor this will kill you!"_

_He didn't even look up as he continued working, "Angel's dying," he said, his voice thick with sorrow and a coldness that spoke of fierce determination, a dark note to his voice that spoke of a promise to come, a promise he would see through to the end, "She's going to die, and I'd rather die with her than live without her, not for anyone," he turned to spit that last word out at her, glaring at her._

~oOo~

He blinked, back before the Pandorica, not having a clue what that was about. All he could see was himself, standing in the Library, glaring at River, Angel collapsed to the ground a few feet away, and he was shouting at the woman. He didn't know what he was saying, but...he was angry, very angry with her, and he felt, for a moment, that anger against River rise in him again, but why? Yes, River had been a bit short with Angel and not very civil, but loads more people had been meaner to him and he didn't feel that anger towards them.

He shook his head, "You go, I go, and that's final, last of the Time Lords," he said, the same fierce determination in his voice that had been in his voice in the Library, though he didn't even realize it, and this time...Angel was too weak to argue.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear God, that moment with Angel, being so at the end of her rope as to be willing to fly the Pandorica herself so he wouldn't have to...kills. And to be in the explosion, with her baby, and...and the Dalek...I just...oh boy... :'( What is wrong with me? What could possibly have happened in my life that would turn me so evil as to do this to Angel?! ...besides working in Accounting...lol :) I really have no idea...no, no, actually it's probably Accounting :)
> 
> And the baby! OH MY GOD! THE BABY! O.O ...Angel was in A LOT of pain wasn't she? ...is the baby...could the baby be... O.O I can't even say it :( I suppose we'll have to wait to find out what exactly happened to the baby as a result of all of this :(
> 
> But I hope it cleared up why Angel teleported River out, she's like the Doctor, SHE'D rather herself be hurt to save someone else :) And, to me, my interpretation of the loop and how the TARDIS was still there was that the explosion kept looping, and THAT was why the TARDIS didn't just go bang and that was it but lasted nearly 2,000 years, because of the loop. Angel knows her TARDISes, she knows that, if someone's there, it'll loop and THAT would buy the Doctor enough time to save Amy. As for River...well, we've seen how the Doctor is when Angel's hurt or in danger or separated from him, I could see River realizing what Angel was going to do and knowing EXACTLY how the Doctor would react to it, how focused and driven he'd be to protect that person later...and she wants that for herself. SHE wants to be the one he's impressed with and concerned about and fretting over, and now it's all on Angel :( Did you like his little 'shouty' moment where we really see just HOW worried he was about it all? :)
> 
> As for that little counting thing Angel was doing...anyone want to guess what it is? I can give a hint, every loop in the TARDIS was about...10 seconds long (I actually think I might have really timed that from the episode lol).


	44. The Big Bang: Closing the Cracks

Amy and Rory stood against the wall of the Pandorica room, looking at the sky which was now a brilliant orange, both of them silent, neither wanting to think about what was about to happen. Something was wrong with Angel, that much was obvious, she was sweating and panting and she seemed truly in pain. The Doctor had remarked solemnly that it was a combination of Angel's natural connection to the TARDIS, which was exploding at the moment, and her trying to hold off regeneration, as she'd been shot by a Dalek! Rory though, the way he looked at Angel made Amy think that it might be something else. Rory hadn't taken his eyes off Angel since they'd found out she was alive, and his eyes were filled with tears.

Because he knew it was MORE than just the regeneration, he knew that something had happened to the baby. That Dalek blast...the way Angel had fallen...it couldn't be good for the baby. He prayed, to everything he could think of, to every deity, even to every star he could remember the name of, that the baby was still alive, though given the look of pain on Angel's face...he very much doubted it. And the worst part was there was only minutes left before all of reality collapsed, there was nothing that could be done for her at the moment, that was why she was holding off her regeneration as well, what was the point in wasting a life when all their lives might end in mere moments.

He closed his eyes, hoping with everything he had that it wasn't...that it wasn't her way of...He couldn't even think of it. He'd seen how devastated and broken the women in the hospital were when some accident took their babies before they even had a chance to live. He hoped that the baby was alive and this wasn't Angel's way of just...not regenerating.

The Doctor seemed worried about her as well. He could see the Time Lord throwing glances at Angel as he worked on the Manipulator with the sonic, really making it secure and checking that it would work. Angel had been gently taken out of the chair so the Doctor could sit there, getting a closer look at the Manipulator. Angel sat beside him, on the floor, curled up which she seemed more comfortable in to be honest. But the Doctor kept looking at her with a frown and concern in his eyes, rightly so. At least it let him know that the Time Lord WAS worrying about Angel. The Doctor had insisted he go with Angel, despite River's arguments against it, citing and repeating what Angel had, that the Universe needed him. But the Doctor ignored her and just got to work on the box, ignored them all really, didn't even glance at them. He only ever looked over when Angel made a small pained noise or shifted, as though he were infinitely more aware of every move she made.

Rory looked over though, when he heard Amy sniffle beside him, "Are you ok?" he asked her.

"Are you?" she countered quickly.

He swallowed hard, looking back at Angel, "No."

"Well, shut up then!" Amy sniffed again.

Rory just turned and pulled her into a tight hug, holding her as she buried her face in his shoulder, shaking as she tried not to cry for what the Time Lords were about to do, which was undoubtedly very dangerous and something they would not let the humans join them in, not that they could, the Doctor and Angel themselves could barely fit into the Pandorica together.

River stepped away from the Pandorica, giving up in trying to get through to the Doctor. He was so like a child, ignoring and feigning deafness when someone tried to tell him not to do what he wanted to do. She shook her head at him, unable to understand why he didn't just let Angel fly the box like she'd clearly planned to. It wasn't like he'd even remember that Angel had even been there, if she was erased from time he wouldn't remember her, it would be his own history changing, like Amy's had. It wasn't like the new him that would be born from that event would care, he wouldn't have any recollection at all of Angel, she wouldn't have existed, so what was the point in killing himself as well?

Stupid bloody martyr.

And that was so him, he wouldn't want to be alone, be the last, not at all, not in any Universe. It wouldn't matter if Angel was there or not, if he remembered her or not, he knew, now, that if she was erased, he'd be alone. And that wasn't something he wanted in any version of reality. She knew he'd go, it didn't matter if he cared for Angel or not. Hell, she could be the Master and he'd still get in that box and go because it would mean erasing himself or being alone. And if there was one thing she knew, it was that the Doctor must NOT be alone.

She sighed and moved over to Amy and Rory, "Amy..." she said, "The Doctor wants to talk to you."

"What about Angel?" Rory frowned, not wanting to sound arrogant in that he felt he should be called over to but more...it wasn't like Angel at all to not try to include him, she'd done it from the very beginning. And so he frowned when he saw River's jaw tense at the mention of Angel, he really needed to ask Angel what that was all about and who this River woman was.

"She wants to talk to you too," River nodded.

"So, what happens here?" Amy pulled away from Rory but kept her arm around him, "Big Bang Two? What happens to us?"

"We all wake up where we ought to be. None of this ever happens and we don't remember it."

"River...tell me they'll come back, too."

"They'll be the heart of the explosion."

"So?"

"So all the cracks in time will close, but they'll _both_ be on the wrong side..." she muttered, sounding very bitter about that aspect of the plan, "Trapped in the never-space, the Void between the worlds. All memory of them will be purged from the Universe. They will never have been born," and as wonderful as that would have been for Angle to never exist, it also meant the Doctor wouldn't either, "Now, please. They want to talk to you both before they go."

Rory nodded and squeezed Amy, making her look at him as he rubbed her back, "It'll be ok," he promised her, he had to trust that the Doctor and Angel knew what they were doing, that a miracle would happen and they'd all be ok.

Amy looked at River, "Not to you?"

"He doesn't really know me yet," Amy noticed how she _still_ didn't bring up Angel, despite the woman saving her in the TARDIS, saving the Doctor from the Dalek, and preparing to sacrifice herself to save them all, "Now he never will."

Amy swallowed, taking Rory's hand tightly in her own before they stepped past River and made their way slowly up to the Pandorica. The Doctor hadn't even seemed to notice their approach as he looked at Angel, sitting on the floor, leaning against the chair, seeming to be struggling to breathe, her eyes closed and her face scrunched in pain, though the chair seemed to be the only thing keeping her propped up at the moment.

He only looked away from Angel when Rory appeared in his line of sight as well, kneeling down before the Time Lady and reaching out to take her hand, signaling to him that Amy and Rory had arrived. He watched Rory for only a moment as the man leaned in, half in the box to whisper comforting words to Angel, feeling a ping of... _something_ at the thought of _Rory_ comforting Angel like that.

He shook his head though and looked up at Amy when she spoke, "Hi," he could see tears in her eyes as she looked at Angel, a far too pale and weary Angel.

Angel, who had blinked her eyes open at the feel of Rory taking her hand, looked at them both, "Rory," she smiled at him, "Amy," and her, before squeezing Rory's hand, "I hope...you had a brilliant time," she whispered, "I'm sorry you got hurt..."

"Hey, hey," Rory cut in, seeing tears in her eyes, putting his other hand on Angel's hand as Amy knelt down beside him to rest a hand on her knee, "Don't apologize, it was the best time in the world."

"Worth ever single pain," Amy agreed.

"Amy..." the Doctor called gently, making her look up at him, "You asked me why we were taking you with us and I said...'No reason.' I was lying."

"It's not important."

"Yeah, it's the most important thing left in the Universe. It's why we're going to do this. Amy, your house was too big. That big, empty house. And just you."

"And aunt Sharon."

"And Rory," Angel smiled at him, making Rory smile back, though there were tears in his eyes as he saw her hand move to her stomach as she winced. But she rolled her head to look at Amy, "But...where were your mum and dad? Where was...everybody who lived with you?"

"I lost my mum and dad," Amy reminded them.

"How?" Angel frowned, "What happened?"

Rory frowned as well, thinking on that, "You never told me Amy," he looked at her, "You always just said they were gone but you never said what happened to them..."

Amy blinked, as though realizing that too, "I...I don't..."

"It's ok," Angel whispered.

"Don't panic," the Doctor agreed, "It's not your fault."

"I don't even remember," Amy looked at Rory, scared.

"There was a crack in time in the wall of your bedroom," the Doctor explained, "And it's been eating away at your life for a long time now. Amy Pond, all alone. The girl who didn't make sense. How could I resist?"

"How could I just forget?"

Angel squeezed Rory's hand once more before letting go, startling Rory a moment before he realized she had done it so he could comfort Amy instead. He nodded his thanks at Angel and turned, putting an arm around Amy as she started to shake, truly afraid of how she'd forgotten so easily.

"Nothing is ever forgotten, not really," the Doctor said, not noticing the wince Angel gave at that, "But you have to _try_."

"Rory," Angel called, her voice thick with the tears in her eyes as he looked at her, "I hope you remember it all fondly."

Before Rory could speak, the ground shook, "Doctor!" River called, "It's speeding up!"

"There's going to be a very big bang," the Doctor turned to Amy and Rory, "Big Bang Two. Amy, try and remember your family..."

"And Rory," Angel added.

"And they'll be there."

"How can I remember them if they never existed?" Amy shook her head.

"Because...you're special," Angel told her, "I knew you were...the moment I saw you, like I did Rory," she offered Amy a pained smile, "You brought him back."

"Yes," the Doctor nodded, "That crack in your wall, all that time, the Universe pouring into your head. You can bring the others back, too. You just remember, and they'll be there."

 _"_ But _you_ won't," Rory whispered, looking at Angel again as he and Amy stood.

"It'll be ok Rory," she whispered, though he could hear her even above the rumbling that had started, "I believe in you."

Rory frowned, not sure what she meant by that, but the Doctor spoke, "Amy will have you and her family back. She won't need her imaginary friends anymore," he let out a small chuckle, seeing Amy crying, Rory trying t be strong, "Amy Pond...crying over us, eh? Guess what?"

"What?" Amy sniffled.

"Gotcha!"

The Pandorica closed and Rory backed Amy away, neither of them taking their eyes off of it as it started to glow.

"Back!" River shouted, "Get back!" she pulled the two of them back, out of the way, as the box launched into the sky.

~8~

The Doctor quickly sent a message on his comm. before dropping it into his lap and taking the controls with one hand, reaching down to grab Angel's hand in the other as the woman slumped over, starting to shake in the pain of holding off the regeneration as long as she was. He was being completely honest, whatever happened, they'd go together.

The Last of the Time Lords.

~8~

River, Rory, and Amy sat on the floor, against the wall of the Pandorica room, when River received the message on her comm., "It's from the Doctor!"

"What does it say?" Amy asked.

"'Geronimo.'"

~8~

The Pandorica flew through space, straight at the TARDIS, colliding with it and exploding...

~8~

The Doctor woke with a start, on the floor of the TARDIS, and sat up, looking over as Angel, no longer singed or hurt or regenerating but seeming restored to complete health once more, pushed herself up as well, more slowly as she had been lying on her side, her back to him.

"Oh!" he smiled, "Ok. We escaped, then. Brilliant! Love it when that happens," and then he started to pat himself down, not noticing Angel, still with her back to him, rest a hand on her stomach and let out a breath of relief at what else had been 'restored' by the Pandorica, "Legs, yes. Bowtie, cool," he tapped his head, "I can buy a fez."

Angel closed her eyes a moment, keeping the tears of joy back at _knowing_ that the baby was ok. Because she knew the joy couldn't last. Yes, the baby was ok, restored to life and health as Amy had been, the living DNA of the mother helping with that, but...it wasn't over. Her stomach was still twisting in knots, she still felt ill, as she always did around the cracks and she knew what that meant, it wasn't over at all. The baby was fine, but...they were all about to be erased from time now.

"I don't think we escaped," she breathed.

"The beach!" they paused, hearing the Doctor speaking from a few feet away, "The beach is the best. Automatic sand."

"Automatic sand?" Amy asked, "What does that mean?"

"It's automated, totally."

They crept around a small panel of equipment, to see themselves standing by the TARDIS console, with Amy dressed for the beach, "Oh," the Doctor breathed.

"They say it cleans up the beach rather well," Past Angel told Amy as the ginger girl moved to lean against the rail and watch the Doctor work, her back to their present selves.

"No, hang on!" the Doctor looked at Angel, "That's last week when we went to Space Florida," and then he frowned, working out what that meant, "We're rewinding. Our time stream...unraveling, erasing, closing…" Angel touched his shoulder and looked at her, only to see her staring at a monitor behind them, watching the crack in it closing, "Hello, Universe, goodbye, us."

Angel glanced over at Amy, frowning as she felt...something...the Doctor had mentioned the cracks had affected her, let her remember things she shouldn't. Maybe...it was ALL the Amys, at every point in her timeline. And if that was true...

"Amy?" Angel called out...

And the woman turned...

~8~

...the timeline rewound a bit further till they stumbled out, somewhere around Craig's flat, watching as Amy crossed the street in front of them, "Ah, three weeks ago," the Doctor nodded, "When she put the card in the window."

"Amy!" Angel shouted and Amy looked up but didn't seem to see them, "She heard me!"

The Doctor's eyes widened, "I need to tell you something!" Amy looked back again, "She can hear me too! But if she can hear us..." he looked back to see a crack in the road close...

~8~

...time rewound again, depositing them by the clearing in the forest during the crash of the _Byzantium_ , "Good luck everyone," the Past Doctor was saying, "Behave. Do _not_ let that girl open her eyes. And keep watching the forest. Stop those angels advancing. And if anything," he turned to Marco, " _Anything_ ," and stepped closer to the man till he was nearly nose-to-nose with him, "Happens to her, I will hold each of you personally responsible, twice," he gave the man a hard look, watching as Marco actually seemed to swallow in fear, before he smiled and nodded, glancing at Past Angel a few seconds, his smile softening from pleased that Marco would take it seriously to happy to know she'd be protected.

The Doctor frowned, squinting as he watched his past self's interactions with the men and Angel, his words, the glances he gave.

The Past Doctor gave Past Angel a nod which made her blink and frown as she realized he'd been talking about HER to Marco and not...not Amy.

The Doctor watched Past Angel carefully, seeing her gaze pulled away from his past self and to someone else...so he followed it to see her looking at River whose eyes were narrowed at her, seeming none too pleased about the treat his past self had given, though he didn't have a clue why.

"Amy, later!" his past self tapped Amy on the head, all smiles again, "Angel," he added, before he turned to River, "River, going to need your computer."

"Yeah," they heard Amy sigh as they walked off, "Later."

"It'll be alright Amy," Past Angel whispered, squeezing her a bit as Amy fidgeted nervously with her hands as they sat there.

Angel looked at the Doctor before stepping back, it would make things dangerously complicated to come in contact with her past self and the fact that she was already there with the Clerics would mean they couldn't see a second version of her appear, the Doctor would have to do this himself. She remembered this, she was suspicious enough of just HIM being there, for her to be there too...it would just be a big old mess. He sighed, seeming to realize that as well, and stepped forward, Past Angel looking up as he walked past the bushes, the expression on her face telling him she KNEW it was the wrong him.

Angel looking up as he walked past the bushes. He quickly made a 'shh' motion with his finger on his lips before walking over to Amy, putting his hands on hers to still her, "Amy," he said, "You need to start trusting me, it's never been more important."

"But you don't always tell me the truth," Amy countered.

"If I always told you the truth, I wouldn't need you to trust me," he smiled, not seeing Past Angel close her eyes at that.

"Doctor, the crack in my wall, how can it be here?"

"I don't know yet, but I'm working it out. Now, listen. Remember what I told you when you were seven?"

"What did you tell me?"

"No, no..." he rested his forehead against hers, "That's not the point. You have to remember," he squeezed her hands once more before leaving.

"Remember what? Doctor? Doctor?!"

But he walked on, smiling as he saw his Angel...er, the _current_ Angel...waiting for him just past the trees...

~8~

...time rewound once more, leaving them in the front hall of Amy's house, "Amelia's house," he moved to check his watch.

"She's seven," Angel cut in, having moved to the window by the front door, peeking out to see the little girl asleep on top of her suitcase outside. She glanced back at the Doctor, "It's the night we met her," and it was rather cold out she recalled.

She turned and stepped out of the house, leading him to where little Amelia was curled up asleep on her suitcase, shivering a bit in the chill.

"The girl who waited," the Doctor sighed, "Come here, you," he picked her up and carried her back inside, Angel following with the suitcase.

~8~

The Doctor sat on a chair beside Amelia's bed, watching with a soft smile as Angel gently tucked the girl in, before she moved to kneel at the girl's side, just stroking her hair lightly, trying to comfort her, offer her one last comfort she could like her mother used to do to her.

"It's funny," the Doctor remarked, looking at Amelia as she slept, "I thought, if you could hear us, we could hang on somehow. Silly me. Silly old Doctor," Angel just offered him a small smile, "When you wake up, you'll have a mum and dad...and you won't even remember us. Well, you'll remember us a little. We'll be a story in your head. But that's ok," he tried to smile, "We're all stories in the end. Just make it a good one, eh? 'Cos it was, you know. It was the _best_. A daft old man who stole a magic box and ran away, joining up with an angel to keep him in check," he smiled fondly at Angel who looked back at Amelia.

"Did he ever tell you?" Angel continued, "That he stole the old box?"

"Well, I _borrowed_ it. I was always going to take it back."

Angel smiled in thought, "Oh, Amy, that old box...I think you'll dream about her more than us. She has a way of just sticking with you," she gave a little laugh, and the Doctor likely had no idea just how long his particular TARDIS could stick with someone, he didn't even fully understand how he'd come across it unlocked, "She's just...remarkable, the TARDIS, big and small, new and old, all at once. And just...blue. SO blue. The bluest blue ever."

"And the times we had, eh? Woulda had...never had. In your dreams, they'll still be there. The Doctor, the Angel, and Amy Pond. And the days that never came. The cracks are closing. But they can't close properly until we're on the other side. We don't belong here anymore," he sighed and glanced at Angel, "I think we should skip the rest of the rewind. I hate repeats."

Angel nodded and stood up, "Live a good life," she whispered to the girl, "And be kind to Rory."

"Bye bye, Pond," the Doctor added, kissing the top of her head.

They looked over at the crack in her wall, moving over to stand before it for a moment, just...staring. The Doctor looked over at Angel, seeing tears in her eyes, and reached out to take her hand, squeezing it as they both walked through it, the crack closing behind them.

Amelia woke up moments later and looked at the wall , the uncracked wall, before settling back to sleep, the stars shining outside her window.

~8~

21-year-old Amy Pond slowly woke up and looked across her room, past her Raggedy Doctor crafts and her Golden Angel cartoons that Rory had helped her make, the man had been insistent that her character of 'the Doctor' have a friend along for the ride so he'd created 'the Angel' to be with him, to her wedding dress, hanging on her cupboard, starting to frown as she felt her gaze pulled back to the crafts.

"Morning!" her mother cheered as she walked into the room with a breakfast tray.

Amy sat up with a gasp, "You're my mum. Oh, my God, you're my _mum_!"

"Well, of course I'm your mum. What's the matter with you? And this is your breakfast," she held up the tray a moment before setting it down on her desk, "Which your father made, so feel free to tip it out of the window if it's an atrocity. Downstairs, 10 minutes? Big day!"

Amy just blinked as she left the room, "Of course she's my mum. Why is that surprising?" she shook her head and got out of bed and headed downstairs to see her father standing in the parlor of the house.

"Ah, Amelia," he smiled at her, "I fear I may have been using the same joke book as the Best Man."

"You're my tiny little dad!" she ran over and hugged him.

"Amelia, why are you behaving as if you've never seen us before?" her mother asked, entering the room with a roll of her eyes.

"I don't know," she shook her head, "It's just..." she turned and ran out of the room.

~8~

Rory was in his bathroom, brushing his teeth, already in his tux, and very excited for his big day with Amy, when his phone rang, "Hello!"

"Do you feel like you've forgotten something really important?" Amy asked over the phone, and he stiffened, the toothbrush just hanging from his mouth, "Do you feel like there's a great big thing in your head, and you feel like you should remember it, but you can't?"

He looked down a moment, "All the time," he told her.

"You're being serious yeah?"

He sighed, spitting out his toothpaste, "I really am," he agreed, "Like there's something you're supposed to know or do but...it's just always at the tip of your tongue and you can't quite grasp it."

"I love you _so much_ ," Amy told him, and he knew it was because he just...got her. The two of them, ever since they were kids, had always just...understood each other. They'd both played 'Doctor & Angel,' a game Amy had made up. They both could stare at the stars for ages. And they both believed in each other. He could understand what she meant even when she wasn't sure she understood what she was saying.

It was why they worked.

He smiled, "I love you too!" and clicked the phone off, staring at his reflection a moment.

Yes, he _did_ feel like he forgot something, something important, something...very special to him.

He blinked and shook his head, it was probably just pre-wedding jitters.

~8~

Amy hung up the phone with a thoughtful expression before grinning and rushing to take her gown off the door.

~8~

Everyone clapped as the Best Man finished his speech, "Ladies and gentlemen, the father of the bride, Augustus Pond!"

Augustus stood a moment, shuffling through his note cards, "Sorry, everyone. I'll be another two minutes. I'm just reviewing certain aspects," and he sat back down.

"Your father, Amelia, will be the absolute death of me," her mother whispered to her, "Unless, of course, I strike preemptively."

Amy laughed but stopped suddenly, spotting a woman with light curly brown hair walking past the window, smiling at her. She stood, straining to stare outside, to follow the woman with her eyes, something about her was FAR too familiar...

"Amy?" Rory eyed her, having been looking at her and not the window, she was just a lovely vision in her gown, "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm..." she sat, "Fine."

"Right," he nodded slowly, not believing her for a moment, "Er...you're crying."

Amy blinked and felt her cheek, realizing she had shed a tear, "So I am. Why am I doing that?"

"Because you're happy, probably," Rory started to smile, "Happy Mrs. Rory. Happy, happy, happy."

"No. I'm sad. I'm really, really sad."

His smile fell, "Great."

"Why am I sad?" she looked down to see a gift on the table in front of Rory, an old, blue book with squares on it that made it look like one of the old police boxes, "What's that?"

"Oh, er, someone left it for you. A woman," he reached forward and handed it to her.

"But what is it?"

"It's a book."

She flipped through it, "It's blank."

"It's a present."

"But why?"

"Well, you know the old saying. The old...wedding...thing. Huh?" Amy looked up slowly, remembering, "Amy?"

Augustus stood, "Ready now. Sorry about that. Last-minute adjustments to certain aspects. Now then, it hardly seems a year..."

Her father's speech faded in her ears as Amy looked around the room at the guests. She spotted a man wearing a red bowtie, a woman with a beautiful clear gem hanging from a necklace, an older man with blue braces, a woman wearing a lovely blue dress. She blinked glancing at Rory's father, a doctor, and then at her mother who was wearing a small pin of an angel on her blouse and a tear fell from her eyes.

"...at the age of six and announced that the new head teacher wasn't real because she looked like a cartoon…"

Amy stood abruptly, "Shut up, dad!"

"Amy?" Rory looked at her, concerned.

"Amelia?" her father gaped.

"Sorry, but shut up, please!" she called, "There's someone missing...two someones. Two important people," she looked at Rory meaningfully, "People so, SO important that they couldn't have just been forgotten."

Rory blinked, feeling a tickling in his mind at her words, "Who..."

"Sorry," she looked back at the crowd, "Sorry, everyone. But when I was a kid, I had these imaginary friends...well, I had one friend," she smiled at Rory, laughing, "Rory had the other."

Rory stared at her, his mouth falling open as his eyes widened, his mind starting to race. It had been ages (ok, really barely 24 hours) since Amy had brought up the Doctor or the Angel, which wasn't normal really. At least once a day either Amy or himself would mention them in passing, they were a constant thought in their minds...though Amy was quite a bit more vocal about them than he was.

Her mother sighed, "Oh no, not this again."

"My Raggedy Doctor and Rory's Golden Angel. But they weren't imaginary," she reached out and took Rory's hand, squeezing it, whispering to him, "They were _real_!"

"The psychiatrists we sent her to!"

"I remember you!" she turned back to the dance floor, Rory slowly starting to stand, joining her.

"I remember," he breathed, blinking quickly as he remembered the warm hugs only one person ever gave him...his sister.

"I brought the others back," Amy shouted, "I can bring you home too, me and Rory. Raggedy Man, Golden Girl, I remember you!"

"We both do," Rory nodded, Amy smiling a she felt Rory squeeze her hand.

"And you are late for my wedding!"

"OUR wedding," Rory corrected her but she just slapped him lightly on the chest to quiet him.

In the silence that followed their outburst, the glasses started to tinkle against each other as the ground began to shake, the chandelier swaying.

"I found you," Amy continued, "I found you in words, like you knew I would. That's why you told me the story...why Angel told me about the box. She had to have known! The brand new, ancient, blue box."

"That is...brilliant," Rory remarked, starting to laugh, "My sister's a genius."

The wind picked up even more and began to blow as the TARDIS wheeze sounded, that noise that was so familiar to the two of them, haunting their dreams every night since they were children…

"Something old," Rory nodded, recalling the story Angel had once told him about how the box had even come to be their method of travel, "Something new. Something borrowed. Something...blue. Brilliant!" the TARDIS began to appear in the middle of the floor as he started to laugh, "It's the Doctor and Angel!" the box solidified as Amy literally climbed over the table to get to it, "How did we forget the Doctor? How did _I_ forget Angel! I was plastic. She was my Pilot! He was the stripper at my stag," he glanced at his new mother-in-law as she gave him a bewildered look, "Long story," he waved her off, moving to rush around the table to join Amy.

"Ok, Doctor, Angel!" Amy was knocking on the door, "Did I surprise you this time?"

"Can't surprise me Amy," Angel called before opening the door and stepping out in a simple floor length TARDIS-blue gown with spaghetti straps and an umpire waist, the skirt of the dress flowing around her from below her bust, just to give Amy a tight hug.

"Psychic," the Doctor called, popping up in the doorway, wearing a top hat and suit, with a white tie and tails, a white scarf over his shoulder.

"Thief," Angel laughed.

"I have to say though Amy," the Doctor smiled at her, " _I_ was completely astonished. Never expected that. How lucky I happened to be wearing this old thing," he grinned and stepped out onto the floor.

"Hello, everyone," Angel waved, "It's nice to meet you, we're Amy and Rory's imaginary friends!"

She was so touched at how that had come to be. She knew, originally, that Amy hadn't focused much on her in particular, it was mostly the Doctor and she was just his friend. But Rory, bless him, she was much more important to Rory than Amy, he remembered her, somewhere in his mind and heart he remembered her and having Amy talking about the Doctor as a child had touched upon that hidden knowledge, had let him think of her long before he'd even met her. He'd helped her be remembered into creation, Amy had done it, but Rory had made it possible.

Oh her companion was amazing!

"But we came anyway," the Doctor stepped over and shook Augustus's hand.

"You absolutely, definitely may kiss the bride," Amy strode towards the Doctor who planted a finger on her puckered lips.

"Amelia! From now on, I shall be leaving the...kissing duties to the brand new Mr. Pond," he shook Rory's hand as the boy reached them...that table was longer than it appeared.

"No, I'm not Mr. Pond," Rory paused in his quest to get to Angel to shake his head, "That's not how it works."

"Yeah, it is."

"Yeah, it is."

"Rory!" Angel cheered, walking over and hugging him as well, the man actually lifting her off the ground and spinning her as she laughed, though he was being very, VERY careful about her bump, hidden spectacularly by the very flowing dress she was wearing. But he couldn't help himself, he was just _so_ relieved.

"Right then, everyone," the Doctor turned back, "I'll move my...our box. You're going to need the space…" he paused and grinned back in the doorway, "I only came for the dancing."

Angel just shook her head and watched the TARDIS disappear, knowing that the TARDIS would make sure the Doctor didn't get lost...she could particularly go after him, Rory was still hugging her and she was enjoying it FAR too much, the celebration of it all, to give that up right now.

~8~

The Doctor created his own dance to Queen's 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' while Amy laughed at his ridiculous moves, "You're _terrible_. That is embarrassing!"

Angel and Rory stood to the side, watching from a safe distance, Rory with a glass of champagne while Angel had a small glass of water. The two of them quietly discussing their secret knowledge. Angel had assured him that the _first_ thing she'd done when she and the Doctor had awakened again, before rushing off to get ready, was to scan herself and the baby…they were both, thankfully, perfectly fine. The time in the Pandorica had restored them both to the picture of health, or at least as healthy as the baby could be normally, Rory was greatly relieved though Angel still worried, it was only the first trimester, basically, there was still _so much_ that could happen. And even then...two of her mother's attempts at children had been carried full term...but were stillborn in the end. She had a feeling that she would likely be terrified through the entirety of her pregnancy of the same happening, though she had to laugh at Rory's reaction, a fond laugh, and put a hand on her stomach, whispering to the baby that 'everything would be fine with Uncle Rory watching out for them,' to which tears appeared in his eyes at that honor and he'd hugged her tightly once more...

Not even noticing the Doctor frowning and narrowing his eyes as he watched them hug from the dance floor...

~8~

The Doctor stood before a group of children, teaching them a crazy little dance, "That's it. That's good. Keep it loose," he threw his hands over his head and shook them around, the kids following as Amy and Rory looked on with a laugh, Angel watching fondly as she spoke to Amy's parents.

~8~

Rory laughed loudly as Angel told him about some of her past incarnations, namely her 9th, and how oblivious and confused she'd been by humans. He hadn't quite believed her when they'd gotten to talking about why the Doctor was so odd, she'd simply claimed it was because they were aliens and humans were alien to them. He'd countered that SHE was very good with humans, very understanding and empathetic and, if he didn't know any better, he'd have thought she were human. She'd laughed and remarked about how she hadn't even known what a high-five was and that had launched them into reminiscing about her 9th self, regaling him with tales of how terrible she was at human expressions and other things.

Now, normally, that sort of conversation would have had the Doctor smiling, recalling quite a bit of that from his own 9th incarnation...but at the moment he was standing at the edge of the dance floor, more than a bit stiff, his arms crossed, his shoulders a bit hunched, a firm frown on his face...having turned down quite a few women and even two men who had asked him to dance (even though he'd danced with them all earlier)...because Angel and Rory weren't just talking.

They were dancing.

They were both out on the dance floor, dancing, not dancing dancing, but just platonically dancing, doing a semi-waltz with Rory's hand on Angel's hip and his other holding hers, her hand on his shoulder, but both standing quite a distance apart from each other, more shifting as they talked than really dancing.

But that didn't matter...because RORY was dancing with ANGEL.

And that bothered him.

More than it probably should have.

He could feel his jaw tensing and his eyes narrowing as he watched them quietly talk, Rory laughing, Angel beaming as she made her companion laugh. And something inside him just...twisted...at that, at seeing Angel so...happy. Well, not twisted because she was happy, not at all for that, but...because Rory was making her happy. And that wasn't Rory's job, that wasn't his duty to make Angel happy, if anything HE should be the one making Angel happy, she was of HIS species! She was the only other Time Lord left and it should fall to him to make sure Angel was safe and happy, not...not Rory!

And he shouldn't have his hands all over her either! It was just like when he'd walked in on them hugging that one time. But worse. Because it was dancing and it was more intimate in a way, even if it was at Rory's wedding and Rory's wife was currently dancing with her own Maid of Honor in fun, the song playing was rather cheerful. He just...he didn't like it. At all.

And that just wouldn't do at all.

Which was why he was only partially surprised when, the next thing he knew, he was a foot away from Angel and Rory and tapping the man on the shoulder, "Might I cut in?" he asked, a very slight edge to his voice.

Rory frowned, hearing that edge and not really understanding why it was there...but his response was cut off when he noticed Jeff moving in to ask Amy for a fourth dance and seeing Amy's pleading look at him to come help her out. He nodded, "Course," he stepped back, letting the Doctor take his place as he went to ask Amy to dance with him.

Angel, on the other hand, blinked, a bit confused as to why the Doctor seemed so _pleased_ when Rory moved away from her and he was able to take the boy's spot, his hand on her waist and holding her other hand. But just as she opened her mouth to ask if he was alright...the song ended. They paused, looking over at the speakers when James Morrison's 'You Give Me Something' began to play instead.

A slow dance.

Angel swallowed, "Oh, um..." and bit her lip, glancing to the side, not seeing the Doctor's gaze drop to her lips at the move or him swallow subconsciously, "We don't have to..." she moved to take a step back, about to part so he wouldn't be stuck dancing with her.

"No, no," he pulled her back a bit, dropping his hand from her own to her waist, setting both of his on it, Angel eyeing him as she moved to rest her hands on his shoulders, "It's fine," he nodded, glancing around, more relieved that this meant that none of the other men would be able to ask her to dance than feeling awkward.

In fact...it felt the opposite of awkward, dancing with Angel, well more like swaying as he was rather bad at dancing and he didn't want to give her an excuse to walk away again. It felt rather...nice actually. It made him feel...warm...almost fuzzy...but a good fuzzy...a very good fuzzy really...

Angel nodded, eyeing him again, it was so odd, how he acted around her. At times he was distant, treated her as nothing more than a friend, a fellow Time Lord, but at others he seemed almost...almost like he used to be. And not just how he used to be as his old self but his old old self as well. And his thoughts, when those moments came, were always so jumbled and racing and then quickly brushed off that she could never make heads or tails of them.

And so they swayed, barely moving really, just...swaying, to the music, quiet. Angel kept her gaze lowered though, looking more at the Doctor's bowtie than anything, because she didn't think she could handle it, being semi-in his arms again, dancing, and then to look up and see that sparkle that had always been there not be there any more. She bit her lip again, just missing the Doctor swallow at the action, HIS gaze having not left her face since they'd begun to sway.

She took a breath, looking up at him as she spoke, "Are you worried?" she asked.

He blinked, "About what?"

"The Silence," she murmured quietly, not wanting to disturb the other dancers, "Falling."

He frowned, "We stopped that, the TARDIS is fine, we reversed the explosion."

"I know," she nodded, "But...that phrase, 'Silence will fall...'" she shook her head, "It's been following us, have you noticed? Just like 'Bad Wolf' did."

~oOo~

_He raised his eyes to the Bad Wolf logo on the wall as Angel walked over to him, looking up at the words as well, frowning, "It really isn't the Daleks," she said quietly, just knowing the words had far more of an impact, had more...meaning...than a Dalek could design._

_"What do we do?" he asked her, at a loss._

_He really didn't know what to do. Refine the Wave, kill the humans. Not refine the Wave, the Daleks would kill the humans. There really was no winning scenario in this entire mess and...it was times like these...where he always looked to her for help, for faith. She had such unshakable faith in him, an unbreakable belief that he could do it that, sometimes, he just needed ONE person to feel that way to feel it himself. And Angel, well...she truly lived up to her name, she was the most faithful person he'd ever met, not just in how she felt with others but how he felt about her. He had faith in her, trust in her, in a way he never had before. Not even on Gallifrey, not even with the mother of his children, he'd never really ever let anyone get that close, let anyone in. But Angel...he didn't understand why, but she'd slipped into his hearts without him even realizing it._

_"We refine the Wave," she shrugged as though it were simple, "With two Time Lords working, we might just get it refined enough."_

_"You feel that?"_

_She shook her head slightly, "No," she answered bluntly, "But I believe in that."_

_He smiled, there she went again, "You really are an angel, aren't you?"_

_She laughed, "Well we've got a god back there. Why not an angel?"_

~oOo~

He started to nod, realizing that, "That's true."

"And yeah, we reversed the explosion, but...what made it happen in the first place?" she had to wonder, "We were leaving Amy's house and everything was fine...but then...the TARDIS started fighting the controls like she had been when we tried to get her to go to Stonehenge. But we hadn't programmed the destination yet, it was like someone else had and she was trying to stop them...I think...I think that struggle..." she blinked, frowning as she thought on it, as she followed the feeling in her gut about it, "Whatever it was was trying to steal the TARDIS and she was fighting them and...it was just too much. To keep them from getting her...she just...blew up," she looked at him again, "But what was trying to steal her?"

He blinked, he hadn't even thought of that. He'd just...he'd completely forgotten about that little detail in his joy at being restored. What HAD caused the TARDIS to explode in the first place? If Angel's theory was correct...that something was still out there. And that needed to be dealt with again. He would NOT let them use his companion or put her or Rory in danger once more. No, they had to be found and stopped.

"Good point," he nodded, "We need to go," he determined, taking her hand and pulling her out of the room.

They'd only made it to the door when he felt himself being tugged back by Angel, frowning when he saw she wasn't looking at him but at something in the room. He looked up and had to smile, the two of them watching as Rory and Amy danced, close, hugging each other and swaying, to the song, creating the perfect moment to begin their life as husband and wife.

"2,000 years," he murmured, "The boy who waited. Good on you, mate."

Angel gave them one more sad smile, watching them being so close, so obviously in love, it did hurt, to know that the Doctor and her seemed to have lost that. But she took a breath, she still had something to remember that love, the baby, and she had to find out who had tried to take the TARDIS and why, because they had inadvertently put her baby in danger, their actions had led to her nearly losing it. And they had to be discovered and they had to be stopped, because she couldn't risk that again, not again, not after having come so close this time.

She nodded to herself as she watched 'the Ponds' as the Doctor was fond of calling them, and turned to head out, the Doctor following her.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel headed back to the TARDIS which had been parked outside the Pond home. The Doctor had just put the key in the lock when…

"Hello River," Angel said.

He looked back to see River walking up the path towards them, "Did you dance?" River asked, ignoring Angel as she looked at the Doctor, "Well, you always dance at weddings, don't you?"

"You tell me," he eyed her.

"Spoilers."

Angel held out the TARDIS journal, "Everything should be back," she said as River took the book, "We didn't look."

River just nodded at her, which, to be honest, was more than Angel expected, she certainly hadn't been expecting a thank you either.

"Are you married, River?" the Doctor asked, handing back the Manipulator as well.

River shot a glance at Angel, who had winced at the question and how it could be taken, before turning a smug smile at the Doctor, strapping on the Manipulator as well, "Are you asking?"

Angel shook her head, not wanting to know how the conversation would go, not wanting to hear any of River's innuendo, and turned, entering the TARDIS quietly...

The Doctor didn't even notice she'd left as he looked at River, "Yes."

River nodded, her smile turning into more of a smirk as she saw Angel disappear and leave her and the Doctor alone, "Yes."

The Doctor started to nod along, until he realized how the question had come across, "No, hang on. Did you think I was asking you to marry me, or asking if you were married?"

"Yes."

"No, but was that 'yes,' or 'yes?'"

"Yes," River's smirk turned flirtatious.

"River..." he let out a small laugh, shaking his head at how confusing she was, it was...interesting, how she could answer a question and yet bring up even more questions in doing so, "Who are you?"

"You're going to find out very soon now," River replied, her smile actually slipping to a line, "And I'm sorry, but that's when everything changes," and with that, she activated her Manipulator and disappeared.

The Doctor stood there a moment longer, looking at the spot River had been in, before he turned to ask Angel what she thought...only to see Angel wasn't there. He frowned, looking around, spinning in a small circle as though she were just standing somewhere else, before he realized she must have gone into the TARDIS and opened the door to head in after her to see her tap something on the monitor and look up at him with a smile back on her face...

~8~

Angel walked up to the console as the Doctor continued to speak to River, a small frown on her face as she walked around it, making her way to the monitor. She paused, looking at it, biting her lip as she debated doing what she was considering. She shook her head, she had to. She'd let her fear keep her from doing something once and it had taken decades, centuries even, away from being able to help Jack, she couldn't let that happen again. She took a breath and walked over to the monitor, tapping something into the keyboard and turning the screen on.

She smiled softly, seeing four boxes appear, with people in the background apparently unaware she was there at the moment, "Hello!" she called, giving a little wave and all of the people in the four squares turned at the sound.

"Angel!" most of them cheered, except for Jack who gave a shout of 'Angie!' instead.

She laughed, seeing Martha and Mickey in one box, Donna and Wilf in another (the man having finally been allowed a webcam), Torchwood in the bottom box along with Sarah Jane in the last one, "Hi!" she offered again.

"What happened?" Mickey was the first to speak.

She blinked, "What do you mean?"

Mickey smiled, "For a split second Angel, I couldn't remember who you were," he told her.

Angel's eyes widened, she knew that Amy would remember that she'd forgotten them, be able to remember them back into existence, and Rory as well since he had been swallowed by a crack in time, had existed within it for a time, he was just as affected by them now as Amy had been, but she hadn't known that the other companions had been affected as well.

"Really?" she asked.

"Worst second of my life," Mickey nodded.

"Us too," Jack agreed.

"And me," Sarah Jane added.

" _I_ didn't," Donna said, a hint of the Doctor's smugness in her voice, "Don't know why though. Could be the bit of the Vortex in me, or your intuitiveness, or the Doctor's mind or..."

"Yeah," Jack cut in with a roll of his eyes, "We get it, you're brilliant."

"That I am," Donna beamed.

"But really Angel, what happened?" Martha asked, "Are you alright?"

Angel let out a breath, realizing that her dream...that terrifying dream where they all forgot her had basically come true...and she hadn't even realized it at the time. Thank goodness she was only learning about it now, to find out that THEY had forgotten her as well while it was happenign...she didn't even want to think about how she'd react to that. She closed her eyes a moment, focusing on the fact that they DID remember her now, that there had been more to her vision/nightmare than she'd first thought and that everything was ok again.

"I'm fine," she nodded, smiling at them, "The Doctor too. Are you ok?"

They all started laughing at that, nodding and giving her their own affirmations that they were just fine, nothing to terrifying or deadly popping up in their lives at the moment which she was grateful for. She was...she was starting to think that maybe, a quiet life would be better for her, would be what she needed. It was...dangerous, being with the Doctor and...with the baby...well, this adventure had proven to her that something had to change, it was getting to be almost too dangerous for her to keep going much longer.

But that was the problem. She was dreading either option, either staying with the Doctor, risking the baby's life and risking him finding out about it when she grew too big to hide behind her flowing dresses. Or leaving and not knowing if the Doctor would be safe, knowing she wouldn't be able to get to him in time if he were in danger, and just...leaving him. She hadn't been separated from him for long except when she'd gone to Torchwood and every day she'd thought about him and fretted over him and worried about him but she'd known she'd be going back to him eventually. She didn't know if she could handle that knowing she wouldn't.

"There was a small incident with the TARDIS," Angel explained to them, "She sort of...exploded," she hesitated before deciding NOT to tell them she'd been in the box at the time, "It created cracks in time and space that could erase things from history, like they'd never been created or born. The Doctor and I worked out a way to close them, but...we had to go through a crack."

"You did WHAT!?" both Gray and Jack and Mickey shouted, which made her laugh at their bug-eyed looks they were giving her.

"We came back," she reminded them, "Our current companions were able to get us back," she smiled, "I _knew_ they would."

That seemed to placate them just a bit.

"But you're ok sweetheart?" Wilf asked, wanting to make sure.

"Yeah," she nodded, "We're fine."

She blinked, realizing that she'd been talking about her and the baby instead of her and the Doctor, but thankfully none of them seemed to realize that, assuming she meant her and the Doctor.

"And the cracks are closed," she added, "Everything's ok now."

"Good," Jack nodded, "'Cos if there's one thing I don't ever want to forget it's you Angie."

"Here here!" Donna shouted, the others all agreeing.

"And the Doctor too," Sarah Jane laughed.

Angel smiled, "No one could ever forget him," she murmured softly, before glancing up at the doors, sensing him about to enter, "I have to go, we've got to get our companions settled and..."

"Go," Martha laughed, all of them able to understand how important the current companions were, knowing they were JUST as important to Angel and the Doctor as the current ones as well.

"And come visit!" Tosh called, "I'm almost ready to pop and I want you to come visit the baby too!"

Angel beamed, "I'd love to Tosh."

"And me!" Mickey shouted, "Don't forget to visit us too."

"Of course!"

"Stop by," Sarah Jane told her, "Luke's about to go to University and I'll need some adventures to pop up."

"We will," she crossed her hearts.

"I know you'll come see me too," Donna winked, both with the Doctor's confidence and her intuitiveness.

"Definitely," she agreed, "I'll see you all soon," she told them as they waved goodbye. She looked up as the doors opened and flicked the monitor off, smiling as she realized that the past companions remembered them too, which was a great relief.

Though...she felt her smile struggle to remain as she watched the Doctor dance his way up to the console, pulling off his scarf in the process. She was still there. She'd been erased from time, but she was back. Everything was the same, the companions had proved it, everything that had happened before the moment they'd been erased had been restored as well...and yet the Doctor still didn't remember she was his Mate.

So what did that mean?

She'd been terrified that it had meant she'd been swallowed by a crack, erased from time, and that it was that event echoing back on the Doctor and keeping him from remembering the Mating. How could they have Mated if she was never born? But now, she was back, they both were, and still...nothing. So it wasn't the cracks that had done anything to him, not their presences, not them devouring her, so what then?

"Ready?" he asked, starting to put in some commands, pulling her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see him smiling at her, and nodded, moving to help him.

"Oi!" Amy called as she strode in, "Where are you off to? We haven't even had a snog in the shrubbery yet."

Rory followed her in and shut the door behind him, "Amy!"

"Shut up...it's my wedding."

"OUR wedding."

"Sorry, you two...shouldn't have slipped away," the Doctor smiled, "Bit busy, you know?"

"You just saved the whole of space and time," Rory shook his head, before glancing at Angel, still not fully convinced of her health till he either saw the results or did the scan himself, "Take the evening off. Maybe a bit of tomorrow."

"The Universe isn't quite safe yet," Angel sighed, knowing she wouldn't feel right till they'd worked out what had happened to threaten the rest of life in the Universe. She just...she wanted everyone to be safe and whatever had caused everything was still out there, waiting, "Something made the TARDIS explode."

The phone started to ring.

"Why?" the Doctor asked, "And why now? The Silence, whatever it is, is still out there, and we have to...excuse me a moment," he answered the phone, "Hello. Oh! Hello. I'm sorry, this is a very bad line..." he frowned, "No, but that's not possible. She was sealed into the Seventh Obelisk. Angel and I were at the prayer meeting. Though Angel _did_ warn you to make sure you got your pronunciations right…well, no, I get that it's important. An Egyptian goddess loose on the Orient Express…in space! Give us a mo," he looked at Amy and Rory, "Sorry, something's come up. This will have to be goodbye."

"Yeah, I think it's goodbye," Amy looked at Rory, "Do you think it's goodbye?"

"Definitely goodbye," he smiled, nodding.

Amy headed to the door and waved out to the night, "Goodbye! Goodbye!" before shutting it and heading back in.

Angel smiled as the Doctor spoke into the phone, "Don't worry about a thing, your Majesty. We're on our way!"

And with that, Angel pulled a lever and the TARDIS was off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :') Uncle Rory! :) I figure, even if the baby was devastatingly injured (or even killed) by the Dalek as well...the Pandorica saved Amy, there was a chance to save the baby too :) And I HAD to have Rory get a goodbye message too :) Angel didn't let Mickey go without one, Rory couldn't go either :) And I figure, having been eaten by the crack that Rory had been VERY exposed to it, much like Amy had, and that he could help bring Angel back too :) And what about the Doctor being jealous of Rory dancing with Angel, awwww ^-^
> 
> Did you like seeing the companions return? :) I think, given Angel's nightmare that she'd want to make sure they were ok, and they also acted as a test for her theory. Amy and Rory, while they may have heard of the previous companions and seen pictures wouldn't know the true depth of their friendships with Angel and their personalities and all the memories they share, so having the companions remember Angel and nicknames for her and events like Donna taking bits of their personalities means that all the events from before being erased still happened and still existed, including the Mating. I know there were some concerns that with Amy and Rory not knowing about it that they'd remember the Time Lords into existence un-Mated because of that. So I hope that explained/eased the concerns :)


	45. Death is the Only Answer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note, this will be a mini-sode chapter, but it'll have quite a bit on the Doctor's thoughts and Angel's thoughts/concerns/theories and even...a glimpse of the future for Angel ;)

Angel looked up from where she was readying the TARDIS for flight to see the Doctor walking in from the doors, having taken a moment longer to say goodbye to Amy than she had with Rory, and...tossing a fez in his hands. They'd just dropped Amy and Rory off on a lovely honeymoon cruise in a starliner, giving them some needed privacy to share their wedding night. Apparently, the Doctor had found a fez while saying goodbye.

"Oh I missed you," he smiled, kissing the fez, "I can't believe River blew you up..."

"I'd stop that Doctor," Angel called, watching him tossing the fez up and down, "You might drop..."

He tossed it, missing it as it fell, and ended up hitting a lever as he tried to leap forward and catch it, "Ok…" he murmured, watching as the fez disappeared, "I didn't mean to do that…"

Angel sighed, walking over to examine the lever he'd hit, "You never mean to do a lot of things," she sighed quietly.

"What?" he looked at her, frowning, having heard her, "What do you mean?"

Angel was...a bit different, than before the entire Pandorica incident. He'd noticed she was quiet again. They'd saved the Orient Express in space, worked out an entire honeymoon gift for Amy and Rory, and even gotten them there to the right spot. Everything was fine...but Angel was quiet. She'd hung back around Rory nearly the entire time, had seemed rather tense and on edge through the whole adventure. Which, he had to admit, was good in one way as she was rather quick about using the Vortex to create a wall to protect them all, but...he was worried. It was like...she had treated the adventure as a...job or something instead of a fun adventure. She acted like she was only there to offer protection and her visions and hadn't enjoyed it at all.

And that wasn't what he wanted at all, he wanted her to have fun! To smile and laugh and enjoy herself and that wasn't what the last trip had been like, not for her at least. Even Rory had seemed to enjoy it but Angel...he could tell from her expression that something about it was bothering her and he wished she'd talk to him about it. Angel didn't often lie, but that didn't mean there were things she wouldn't talk about. She could avoid answering to her hearts' content because he couldn't exactly pry into her mind.

It wasn't like they were Mated and had a mental connection.

Angel closed her eyes, hearing that thought, he STILL didn't remember. Well, she expected that, she knew now that the cracks had nothing to do with his amnesia, and the more she was there, around this him who didn't know her as his Mate, the more she was starting to fear the only other possible reasons behind it that she could see.

Even more so now that River had popped up again.

There were only two things she could imagine that would cause his amnesia...and both...she hated to admit...both involved him and his own decisions which meant that, in a way, it might be his own doing that he'd forgotten. Which killed her to think.

At first she had thought that, maybe, he'd forgotten her because...he just hadn't wanted to give her up. She had heard his thoughts, right up to the end, his greatest regret was that he'd die and another man would walk off with her. His old self had always been so possessive of her, even more so after Mating, she could understand his reluctance to be locked away in his own head, seeing her being happy and laughing and loving 'another' man. She had started to think that, maybe he'd forced himself to forget, as a way to cope. When they regenerated, they held the same memories as their previous selves, they carried over from one life to the next. Perhaps his last self had simply thought that ONLY he would forget, that the next him had already had the memories...like a computer that had a copy of a document backed up even when the original was deleted. They didn't normally want to forget anything when they regenerated so she truly didn't know if anything like this had ever happened before.

But there were two rather large issues with that. If his last self had wanted to forget her...why not forget her completely? Why still know who she was but not who she was _to him_? And...if he had forgotten her and only forgotten his memories from after the Mating...wouldn't he have still remembered that he'd loved her as 9 as he had claimed he had? And even then...wouldn't it have been possible for him to fall in love with her again?

THAT was a big reason that she was starting to think it was her second theory, one that was strengthened because of one thing.

River Song.

She had, at first, thought the woman might have had something to do with the Doctor, because of what she'd said on the beach with the Byzantium but...the River they'd just come from...she hadn't said anything and, well, River did seem the sort to...gloat...a bit. It was starting to make her question that, and, until she really knew if River had done anything, she didn't want to consider she had...because if she thought River really had done something then...she'd be angry and she didn't want to do anything rash, not just because her emotions were heightened right now and, with the Vortex, that could be dangerous, but...because she needed to be sure. She would need to know what River had done and if River suspected she knew well...there would go her chances. And with how River kept popping up out of order she couldn't be sure which River knew what...

And that was also an part of her fretting too. Whenever that woman appeared...she could see it, she could see it and hear it and feel it...the Doctor was slowly growing more and more intrigued by River Song. And she knew what the Doctor was like when he was curious about something, when he had a new mystery to work out...he focused on that, he wondered about it, he thought about it, till he got his answers. And she knew that River Song was close to him, she had to be, to know his name in the Library. River obviously knew what he was like as well, all those little spoilers she kept giving, the little hints of the future, the way she handled the Doctor...

All they did was make him more curious about her, notice her more, think about her more...

She tried to block it out when it happened, when his thoughts drifted to River, she tried not to notice. But he DID think of River from time to time. And she'd...she'd always had a bit of doubt in the back of her mind, ever since the Doctor had first asked her to Mate to him, that...it was just a rush of emotions that made him do it. When she had been dying, she had been completely serious, she wasn't like River, not at all, and she was worried that...perhaps, when he'd been regenerating, he'd started to agree...River was a better match for him than her.

What if, in that final moment, he found himself regretting their Mating? That was the theory she was terrified of. What if he regretted it and his mind had tried to do what it could to block the Mating bonds, to give him a chance to be with someone...better.

Someone like River.

Every time River popped up, no matter how much she tried not to let it, her mind would wander to that possibility. Because there was clearly something keeping him from loving her again and she couldn't think of anything except...him. Except that the Doctor himself just...didn't want to love her. It was like he was starting to but then something would shock him out of it or remind him that it just wouldn't do and he'd...stop. He'd turn away or think of something else or shake himself from his thoughts...or River would distract him. What if that something keeping him from loving her was...that he was starting to fall in love with River?

She didn't know, she refused to connect to him when his thoughts turned to River, she blocked everything as much as she could. If he was, if he WAS falling for her...she didn't want to know. If she knew then she'd know that her own chance at getting him back, or at least winning his hearts again, was dwindling. She'd rather have hope. If he ended up loving River...as much as she hated to think on that...she'd let him, because she'd promised herself, if she still had the baby...she'd give him up.

Even if it meant giving him up to River Song.

And that was just it, _if_ she still had _the baby_. She'd been silent this last trip, she knew he'd noticed, for once he'd really and truly noticed how quiet she was. It wasn't because of what he thought though, it was more...she didn't want to risk the baby, not again. So she'd been extra careful, she hadn't let the chatter around her distract her, she hadn't let the Doctor's excitement pull her attention away, she'd focused, she'd remained on her toes so she could react quicker if a danger popped up. She HAD to be careful because...it was the only way she could think of that would let her stay with him longer.

Because she WAS thinking of leaving, for the baby's safety. But in the same breath, she didn't WANT to leave. She couldn't bear the thought of leaving him, not till she absolutely had to. And that was the only way she could think of to stay, being careful. She'd probably overdone it a bit, but now she knew that...she could protect the baby. She NEEDED to know that after failing so miserably before. She had to know she could do it, she had to prove to herself she could.

And she had.

So, for that, she'd be ok for now.

She glanced at him a moment, realizing he was waiting for an answer, before shaking her head, "Nothing. I'm fine," and she was, technically speaking, because she was alive, she was still there, the baby was ok, her companion and his wife were safe, and the Doctor was alive and well...in that sense, yes, she was fine.

But the Doctor frowned, despite everyone commenting on how oblivious he was, he HAD noticed that something was bothering her, that it had been since he'd regenerated really. At first he thought she was having a reaction like Rose had, that she'd gotten too attached to his last body but...he was starting to think it was something else. Even Rose had gotten over his regeneration faster than this.

"Angel what..." he trailed off when the air on top of the stairs to the halls began to swirl, "I didn't do that," he looked at her, "I'm sure I didn't do that..."

"No you didn't," she agreed, moving around the console to check the monitor just to be sure.

"More importantly, where's my fez got to?" he looked around the lever, hoping the fez might rematerialize again.

"Um, Doctor?" Angel pointed up the stairs when none other than Albert Einstein stepped out of the swirling vortex, wearing the fez, and holding a test-tube of green liquid in his hands.

"Doctor?" Albert gaped at him, "That is you is it? And lovely Angel!" he beamed, making his way quickly down the stairs and to her side, walking right past the Doctor as the Time Lord tried to hug him, which made the Doctor pout, "My dear, my dear," he gave her a kiss on each cheek, "You look more divine than the last time I saw you," he chuckled, "Can YOU explain how my fez got here?" he pointed at the top of his head.

"Hello Alby," she smiled, rubbing her cheek where his mustache had tickled her, understanding what Amy had felt about Vincent kissing her cheek.

"Albert Einstein, nice to see you," the Doctor moved in and finally got that hug out of him, "What are you doing here?"

"I was working on MY time machine when it started shaking," Albert explained, "I put my hand in to try to turn it off, went straight through it! And ended up here."

Angel laughed, "Through the looking glass Alby?"

"So how's it going, your 'time machine,'" the Doctor smiled, using quotey fingers.

"Oh, not great," Albert sighed, "I've singed my eyebrows, almost died twice, and fallen off a cliff!" he turned to look at Angel as he spoke, knowing the girl was more supportive of his efforts than the Doctor, who mocked him at times, the Doctor was ignoring him even now to sonic the liquid in his tube, "In fact, I'm quite close to perfecting it."

Angel nodded, not quite believing it, but wanting to be encouraging, "That's wonderful Alby."

"Ah my dear," he beamed at her, "I knew there was a reason I like you better than him," he nodded at the Doctor.

"Oi!" the Doctor straightened and pouted, stopping his scans.

Angel moved to speak...when the TARDIS hummed loudly, which made her chuckle a bit, it sounded like she was agreeing with Albert. She looked at the Doctor who seemed to get that impression too and patted his shoulder a moment.

"I think this liquid is the key," Albert added, holding the tube up with a gleeful smile.

"Oh…" the Doctor looked at the scans, now reminded of that, "Yes…but no."

"Well is it yes or no?"

"No," Angel answered for the Doctor, having seen it in his mind, though the Doctor seemed to think it was just her knowledge of time travel that had given her the answer.

"So how did I get here?"

"Because of this," Angel reached out and took the fez off him, holding it up for him to see, "Your fez?" she asked him as he nodded, before she gave the Doctor a look, blinking as she saw him smiling at her instead of looking at Albert, "You were playing with it Doctor," she began, reminding him of the situation.

"Right!" he nodded, shaking himself from his thoughts on how nice it was to see Angel smiling and laughing and NOT being silent, "This was the fez I happened to be carrying during an unavoidable collision with this lever," he pulled the lever down, taking the fez from Angel and dangling it on the lever, "My lever plus your fez equals time window in the TARDIS. OUR TARDIS by the way so don't get any ideas trying to steal it. Again. Angel was rather cross with you for that."

Albert winced at the mention of that, he'd only met the woman a few times before and always for such short whiles, but she gave off such a profound effect that, even in his first meeting with the woman, he'd found himself sad that he'd disappointed her, "I am sorry my dear."

Angel smiled, "It's alright Alby, everything's fine and I think the TARDIS was rather flattered that you wanted to steal her like another thief," she glanced at the Doctor.

"Oi!" the Doctor frowned as the TARDIS hummed again in what sounded like agreement too.

"Wonderful," Albert laughed, before pointing at the Doctor, "And you DID say you were going to give my toothbrush back!" he reminded the Doctor as a means of a weak argument to justify why he had tried to steal the box, the man had stolen his toothbrush!

"About that…the Daleks kind of exterminated it last week…or was it last century?"

"Last _month_ ," Angel corrected, moving to the console to close the window down.

"So, going back to this," Albert held up the test tube, "I guess it's not bionic fusion liquid."

The Doctor took it from him, "Never mind, pass it to me, I'll just run some tests..." he set it down on the console, beside Angel, who watched as it bubbled, before he pulled on some protective goggles.

"No!" Albert snatched it back, holding it protectively to his chest, "I made it, I'LL do the tests."

The Doctor sighed and looked at Angel, "That's the 20th century physicist for you…always wanting to do it themselves," he pulled the goggles off.

"I think that's just men in general," Angel remarked, "You're always trying to fix the TARDIS yourself..." she frowned, "It never ends well."

~oOo~

_He looked over a bit, concerned, as Angel's face scrunched. She had fallen asleep on the captain's chair and he'd made sure to pilot the TARDIS into the Vortex gently, letting her sleep as he quietly worked on fixing a bit here and there...wanting to surprise her. Well, he really wanted to give her a surprise, for a very good reason, but his thoughts and intentions kept getting cut off as he watched her. They had been sitting in the console room, Angel lying down, smiling and listening to the gentle, yet somewhat excited, hum of the TARDIS, just listening to him rattle on about something...and fallen asleep. He'd smiled at that, he loved how she found his voice so soothing that it could lull her to her dreams. He hadn't had the hearts to wake her and thought it would actually be brilliant if she slept a short while, gave him time to get her surprises in order._

_It was rather hard to surprise a psychic, he realized._

~oOo~

The Doctor paused, looking at Angel a moment, as he rubbed his head, feeling an odd...pressure there, before he shook his head, it was probably just the fumes from Albert's liquid thing, "True," he nodded to her observations.

"Where have you hidden my bicarbonated processing machine?" Albert looked around, reminding them both that he was still there, "Huh? A genius like me needs better than this old trash!"

"Albert!" Angel put her hands on her hips as the man headed for the stairs, "Old trash?! The TARDIS is nothing of the sort! She's a treasure that will be here till the end of time. She was you know," she turned with a huff to help the Doctor fix the time window, ignoring the slightly smug look he shot her. She was always defending Albert and supporting his ideas so it was nice to see her be a bit cross with the man, especially over the TARDIS.

He chuckled to himself and looked down, not seeing her stiffen, "Ah, and Albert," he called, the two of them unable to see the liquid of the tube explode into Albert's face with his back to them, "I almost forgot, whatever you do…do not drink that liquid."

"I think it's too late Doctor," Angel called, having turned around when she'd seen Albert starting to twitch and shake, horrified when the man turned into an Ood like Halpen had been.

The Doctor turned around, "It may…" only to see the Ood standing there where Albert had been, an Ood with _red eyes_ , "Ohh!" he grinned tensely, quickly making his way around the console to stand between the Albert-Ood and Angel, knowing how dangerous the red-eyed Ood could be, "I like your new look. It's an Ood isn't it?" he stepped even closer, "I can tell you've got the wiggly bits and everything..."

But then Angel pulled him back, not wanting him to get too close.

"Death is the only answer," the Albert-Ood stated, his orb lighting up.

"Alby?" Angel called, taking a very cautious step closer, noting how the Doctor didn't pull her back but feeling his gaze on her back, "Can you hear me? Do you remember your name?"

"Death is the only answer," the Albert-Ood advanced on her, NOW the Doctor pulled her back.

"What does that mean?" she shook her head, "The answer to what?"

And then she winced...

... _the moon was in the sky, reflected over a large lake_...

'... _the first question. The oldest question in the Universe. Hidden in plain sight_...'

... _a TARDIS blue envelope had a number 1 on its back_...

She pressed a hand to her head, her head pounding as it often did when she 'saw' too far ahead. She swallowed hard, forcing her eyes opene as she blinked, staring at the Albert-Ood in horror, not because it should be Albert Einstein, but...the vision that his words had sparked and the pit now forming in her stomach.

What sort of question could _possibly_ warrant death as an answer?!

But the Albert-Ood just kept coming so the Doctor pushed Angel behind him, "O…k…you don't want to tell us but wait, wait!" he pulled out a yellow yoyo, "This is what you're looking for?" he dangled it and swung it before the Albert-Ood, hoping it might distract him as he nodded at Angel, who made her way around the console quickly to fix this, "Huh? Power source for your time machine, hmm?"

Luckily the Albert-Ood seemed to have none of Albert's brains as it stared at the yoyo as though it were really a power source for anything.

Angel pulled a lever and a white light turned on behind the Albert-Ood, just in front of the time window. The Albert-Ood turned, heading straight for it, before stepping into it, trapped...till it shook and twitched, turning back into Albert again...his hair all mussed.

"What just happened?" the man asked, shaken and looking more than a bit green.

"Long story, you went a bit Ood," the Doctor waved him off, walking over to scan him, "Ah, a bit odd. Nice hair, you should keep it. Looks more sciencey."

"You don't look too good Alby," Angel stepped to his side, moving to help support him as the man stumbled, but that was understandable, that had to be a very jarring experience.

"I don't feel too good," Albert agreed, clutching her.

"Come on," she gently took his arm and moved him over to the jump seat, helping him sit.

"Will you drop me off home please Angel?"

"Of course," she nodded, dropping a kiss onto the top of his head, Albert was so old and reminded her so much of Wilf that it was hard not to be kind to him.

"Oi!" the Doctor pouted as Angel moved past him to do just that, "What about me?"

Angle paused, "What about you what?"

The Doctor blinked, stiffening as he realized...for a moment there...that had almost sounded like he was asking why she hadn't kissed him too. But...no. No that...that couldn't be what he meant. Not at all. No. No, no, no, no, nope, not at all. No.

Why would he want to kiss Angel? They were friends, mat...no, friends, he insisted in his mind, not willing to risk thinking the other word and wince, again. There was really no reason at all that he'd want to kiss Angel. It wasn't like he hadn't stopped thinking about her lips since they'd danced and she'd bitten them. Not at all. Nope. No.

"What about ME dropping him off home," he continued, shaking his head from those thoughts.

Angel just gave him a look, as though the answer to that question should be obvious.

"I know," he sighed, the last time he'd tried to get Albert home he'd nearly landed the man back in Germany.

"1945?" Angel called, "Right Alby?"

"I think," Albert nodded, rubbing his head, his eyes closed, trying to keep the room from spinning.

She smiled, "Ok, would the 18th of September be alright? Maybe 10 o'clock."

Albert waved her on, the Doctor reaching out to grab his arm in the process, helping the man up and leading him to the doors as the human grumbled, "Back to the drawing board. I guess you are keeping the fez then?"

"Well fezzes look better on me than you," the Doctor laughed, "Like bowties."

"Typical Doctor. Some things will never change."

Angel's smile faded, her hand moving to rest gently on her bump with the men's backs to her, and some things _had_ to change. She just hoped they wouldn't change too soon, she just...needed more time and, despite living in a time machine, in this one instance, she was afraid it was time she wouldn't have.

"Oh well, goodbye," Albert turned to shake the Doctor's hand.

"Bye Albert."

"Angel," he smiled, blowing her a kiss from the doors and waving as she waved back before he stepped out of the TARDIS.

The Doctor clapped his hands and ran up the stairs to the console, getting them back into the Vortex.

Angel glanced at him a long while before looking down, sighing when she spotted a bit of Albert's liquid on the floor from where it had exploded at him...moving. The green liquid was actually moving. Well that wouldn't do at all and she would not have a messy TARDIS...not to mention the TARDIS herself would probably throw a tantrum about it later. So she reached down, pulling a small rag off the console and wiped it clean.

"So!" the Doctor clapped, pointing at her as she stood, "Where do you want to go now? It's just us till the Ponds are done eh? Eye of Orion?"

She blinked, a bit surprised at his suggestion. Normally he'd pick the most ridiculous place or some mysterious setting or set the TARDIS to random but...here he was, offering a trip to the calmest place in the Universe. She had to smile though, catching his thoughts. He was still worried about her, about how the exploding TARDIS and the Dalek blast and being erased had affected her and just wanted to give her a little calm trip to try and make up for that. It seemed he blamed himself for those events.

She smiled, "I'd like that."

"Brilliant," he nodded, moving to set the controls...about to pull a lever to send them off when...

"Doctor!" Amy's voice screamed over the comm. that she'd nearly begged Amy and Rory to take with them for some reason, "Angel! Help!"

The Doctor ran for the comm., "Amy? Amelia! What is it? What's wrong?!"

How could anything have gone wrong?! They'd JUST dropped the Ponds off on their honeymoon...but then he noticed the date and time the call was coming from on the monitor. It seemed, entering the Vortex...the call was coming through from a day or two in the future...well, the future to THEM at least.

"It's the ship!" Rory shouted, "There's something wrong with the..." he was cut off by the sound of crashing.

"We're coming!" Angel yelled, her and the Doctor getting to work on the console, on their way to save their companions.

To be continued...

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this little bridging moment :) Of the script-to-screen challenges this one was the one I could really get into and see as an actual 'episode.' I mean no offense to the other script-to-screen but the second, to me, had too many inconsistencies in it as opposed to this one so I thought I'd put this one in. And I really wanted to see Albert interact with Angel :)
> 
> And I also wanted to use this as a look into Angel's mind and see her thoughts and feelings on the latest events that happened, even take a bit of a look into the Doctor's mind too :) So I hope you enjoyed it! :)


	46. A Christmas Carol: Fish

A crashing ship hurtled through a dense white-blue atmosphere of a planet, alarms ringing out in the main flight deck, though the other halls outside the room were silent. There was no sign that anything was wrong except for the computerized announcement coming over the speakers, "Would all passengers please return to their seats and fasten their safety belts?" which was made all the more justified and calming by the added, "We are experiencing slight turbulence."

Simply to not disturb or alarm the passengers...

However the same could not be said for those in the main flight deck, those with a direct look at how out of control the ship was and how much danger they were actually in.

The captain ran in, struggling to remain stabilized from where she'd run to check on some equipment the moment the shaking had become unbearable, "Both engines failed and the storm-gate's critical. The ship is going down! Christmas is cancelled."

"Entering atmosphere now!" one of the pilots called, before turning in his chair to speak to the second pilot, "Level, keep her level!"

"Level with what?" the second pilot retorted, "I can't see! What _is_ that stuff?"

"Clouds?" the captain looked out the main window, seeing just the murky white-blue fog ahead of them, lightning striking in the distance, the ship twisting to avoid it.

"What kind of clouds?" the first pilot asked when a beep began to sound.

The captain turned, frowning as she looked at a flicker of light flashing in time with the beep on a panel, "Are you sending a distress signal?!"

"It's not me!"

The captain turned and tapped on the panel, trying to check the ship to locate the signal, frowning in confusion as she saw where it was coming from, "Who's in the honeymoon suite?"

Just then the doors opened and Amy, wearing her police costume, stepped in, "I've sent for help!" she reassured them as the captain spun to look at her.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Look, there're two friends of mine, ok, and they can help us. They'll come!"

"And what ARE you wearing?" the captain shot an odd look at her outfit of choice.

Amy flushed and tugged at the hem of her most likely too-short skirt, "That doesn't matter."

"Are you from the honeymoon suite?"

"Oh, shut up!" she blushed even more.

And, to make the matter worse, the door opened again and Rory stepped in, dressed as a Roman soldier, which made the two pilots look at each other with a small grin despite the situation. He stumbled into the wall as the ship shuddered, holding a device in his hand, "Amy, the light's stopped flashing...that doesn't mean they're not coming right?"

He couldn't tell, the turbulence...there was lightning in the storm, they'd seen it on their way over, it must have been interfering with the frequency set on the comm. in his hands. They hadn't heard anything after Angel had shouted that she and the Doctor were coming. He trusted them, yeah, he trusted Angel with his life, but...when the Doctor got involved well...it had taken the man 14 years to get them back to Amy again and he'd said 5 minutes. He was afraid that they didn't even have 5 minutes to spare this time. While he had never been to many places, he did know that shaking and sparking and extreme 'turbulence' was NOT a good thing...unless it was the TARDIS, but even then he was sure that the sparking was not meant to happen but Angel was never too far away to fix the box and make sure everything was going just fine.

So he supposed he just had to hope that everything would be just fine, because...well, he had to smile. He could imagine Angel slapping the Doctor's hands away from the controls and taking charge, flying the TARDIS herself. He had to admit, Angel was a MUCH better pilot than the Doctor, but he supposed that was understandable, she'd been around them her whole life, had repaired them, grown them, adapted them...apparently her family had even written the manual on how to pilot one...which was the one the Doctor had thrown into a supernova. Though it didn't seem like the manual was even needed with Angel there, she was like a walking manual and one that was much easier to understand than a few of the manuals he'd read in his life about ordinary objects like cars and computers and...book shelf assembly. He was very proud of the fact that he could successfully change the thermo-couplings all by himself! And it had only taken Angel two times of explaining it for him to get it. The first time she'd 'pulled a Doctor' and rambled about what they were and what they did and he'd just stared at her, blinking in confusion. But she'd seemed to realize what she'd done and gave him an apologetic smile, before explaining it slower and simpler, which he'd actually picked up on rather easily.

They'd talked during that, she'd trusted him to do it himself on the first go, claiming she would just be beside him and watch him work. Which she had, she really had just let him try his best and make a good effort, only commenting on it here or there when he hesitated or seemed to forget what to do or nearly put them in the wrong slots, but it was always done gently and in a way that didn't make him feel like an idiot that he hadn't gotten it completely right. Other than that they had just talked, about lots of things, she'd told him a bit more about Mickey Smith during that moment, how she'd also taught him to help with the TARDIS.

It was strange, how he didn't feel resentful of Angel bringing up Mickey to him. It could have been easy for someone to feel like she was comparing them or that she wasn't quite over the fact that Mickey was no longer her companion, but...he knew it had been years for her since Mickey had left. And, to be quite honest, it actually...made him feel rather good that she talked about Mickey as fondly as she did. Because he knew Mickey hadn't been there as long as he had, and the fact that she still talked of him and remembered him...well, it made him feel like she would be the same if he left the TARDIS one day. He liked to think that she'd talk about him to her next companion and think of him fondly and remember him as the great man she considered Mickey to be.

It made him feel...nice...to know that she always kept not only HER companions in mind but the Doctor's as well. Oh she'd told him stories of Mickey's wife Martha, of Rose and Donna and Jack. She had promised, crossed her hearts, that she'd take him (and Amy) to meet all of them one day. He was really looking forward to that too, because he knew how important they must be to her. She'd called Martha the best human friend she'd ever had, referred to Donna and Rose as her sisters (though he knew the chances of meeting Rose were slim as the girl was in a parallel world though Angel had mentioned it might be possible to look at Rose at an earlier point in her timeline) and Jack and another man, Gray, as her brothers, and since he was her 'brother' too he was eager to meet her extended 'family' too. He'd grown up an only child, much like Amy, which was why he rather liked the idea of being Angel's brother, so meeting her other siblings meant that he'd have more siblings too! And it was sweet how she kept the companions in her hearts and on the same level as family.

Because there was nothing more important than family.

Which was why he KNEW Angel was coming, family didn't abandon each other, family was always there, and Angel was his 'sister' so he knew she'd be there.

Now it was just a matter of if the Doctor would get in the way.

"Honeymoon suite?" the first pilot looked back at him.

"Oh, oh," he shook himself from his thoughts, "The clothes, um..." he smiled, "It is just a bit of fun..."

"Really, shut up!" Amy snapped, blushing even more.

"Sensor-loss on 80 percent of the hull..." the second pilot cried as the ship bucked again.

"This means they're coming right?" Rory looked at Amy, "Or does it mean I need to change the bulb?" because he'd hate for it to mean he needed to change the bulb and, because of that, he was missing some sort of message from them.

"They'll come," Amy nodded, "They always come. Angel's said they were coming, they're coming."

"Right, well, they are cutting it kind of fine!" he had infinite faith in Angel's abilities but…things tended to get a bit clinchy when the Doctor got involved.

"If we can't stabilize the orbit, we're finished," the captain called as the ship shook again, sending Amy crashing into Rory's arms, him holding her stable.

"There's nothing to lock on to," the second pilot shouted, "I am flying blind."

"Come on, Doctor, come on Angel..." Amy prayed, Rory squeezing her a bit in comfort.

"There's something coming alongside us. Something small, like a shuttle."

"Just this once, Doctor listen to Angel! Don't be late!"

"Ma'am...incoming message," the first pilot turned back, "It's from the other ship."

"On screen," the captain called and the words 'Come Along Ponds' appeared, the TARDIS whizzing by as Amy and Rory sighed in relief, "What does _that_ mean?"

"It's Christmas!" Amy grinned as Rory hugged her tightly, beaming, both of them knowing it would be ok now.

~8~

An old, severe-looking man stood at the window of his large mansion, looking down at the Victorian-styled city below, the houses seemingly mixed with high technology. There was a faint red light glowing above, reflected in the clouds of the sky, where an energy spire controlled the clouds.

"On every world," the man began, smirking out the window, "Wherever people are, in the deepest part of the winter, at the exact midpoint, everybody stops and turns and hugs as if to say, 'Well done. Well done, everyone, we're halfway out of the dark.' Back on Earth, we called this Christmas or the Winter Solstice. On _this_ world, the first settlers called it the Crystal Feast. You know what I call it?" he turned around to face a family of four that had gathered in his sitting room. He glared at the man standing with two children and an old woman, the head of the little family, "I call it expecting something for _nothing_!"

"Sir," the man pleaded, "Mr. Sardick. We're only asking for one day. Just let her out for Christmas," he glanced over nervously when two men wheeled in a cryogenic pod with a young blonde woman frozen inside, the woman visible through a small round window, "She loves Christmas."

"Does she?" the man scoffed, rolling his eyes as he stalked over to the pod, "Oh, does she? I see! Hello!" he tapped her window with his cane, "Wakey, wakey, it's Christmas! Do you know what? I think she's a bit cool about the whole thing," he laughed but no one else did, "That was funny," he shot the servants a look and they laughed nervously.

"She's frozen," the young boy remarked.

"She's what, sorry?"

"She's in the ice, she can't hear you."

"Oh, what a clever little boy. You must be so irritated," he sneered at the boy's father before he turned to a servant, "How much?"

"Er...it's 4,500 Gideons, sir," the servant reported, checking the amount of money the family owed on a small clipboard.

"You took a loan of 4,500 Gideons and Little Miss Christmas is my security," the old man continued, when a phone rang somewhere and another servant moved to answer it.

"We're not asking for her back," the father tried to explain, "Just let her have _one day_. Let her have Christmas with us," they needed this one day. His mother, the woman beside him, the sister of the frozen woman, was ill, they doubted very much that she would make it to the next Christmas, and they just wanted to give her this one Christmas with her sister again.

"Sir, it's the President," the servant called, holding the phone up with his hand over the bottom.

"Tell him I'm busy," the old miser waved him off, "Now...where were we? Oh, yes!" he looked back at the frozen woman, "She's pretty, though, your daughter. Maybe I should keep her."

"She's not my daughter, sir," the man replied.

"She's my sister," the old woman cut in, "She volunteered for the ice when the family were in difficulties many years ago..."

The servant with the phone walked over, hesitant, "Sorry, sir, the President says there's a galaxy-class ship trapped in the cloud layer and...well, we have to let it land."

"Or?" he looked at the servant.

The servant blinked, "Well...or it'll _crash_ , sir."

"Oh. Well, it's a kind of landing, isn't it?"

"It's from Earth, sir, registering over 4,000 life forms onboard!"

He chuckled, "Not if we wait a bit!"

"You can't just let it crash, sir," the man shook his head, knowing he should be used to the man's callous behaviour and regard for others but...this was 4,000 people about to die in a horrible crash!

The little boy looked up at a slightly mechanical wheezing sound that seemed to be coming from the roof...

"Says who?" the old man sneered, "Oh, give it here," he snatched the phone, "Look, petal, we already have a surplus population. No more people allowed on this planet," he rolled his eyes as the little boy watched a bit of soot fall from the chimney into the fireplace, "I don't make the rules. Oh, no, hang on...I do," he hung up, "Right, you lot...poor, begging people, off home and pray for a miracle."

The father sighed and moved to usher his family out...when a huge amount of soot fell out of the chimney, spreading the embers across the floor in a gust.

And then the Doctor fell out of it, somersaulting into a roll and stood up, dusting himself off, "Ah!" he coughed a bit, "Yes, blimey. Sorry! Christmas Eve on a rooftop, saw a chimney, my whole brain just went, 'What the hell!'" he walked to the children, "Don't worry, fat fella will be doing the rounds later. I'm just scoping out the general...chimney-ness. Yes," he turned and headed back to the chimney, looking up it again as though waiting for someone else to join him...

"Don't touch it," a voice warned and they looked over to see Angel walk in from a side room, "It's hot."

"But it's a great chimney," the Doctor said with a smile as he leaned against it, pulling her from her thoughts, "Nice size, good traction...big tick!" he pulled his hand away from it as it burned him, "You should have tried it."

"I'm not going to jump down a chimney," she sighed, shaking her head at him, forcing her hand not to drop down onto her stomach.

She was NOT about to jump down a chimney! The Doctor, as soon as he'd seen it, had run for it with a shout of 'Come on Angel!' and dove into it. She'd just stood there a minute longer and shook her head. She'd bitten her lip and sighed, the Doctor hadn't noticed anything about the pregnancy and...she wished Rory was there. During the last adventure with the Orient Express in space, Rory had hung back with her a little, seeming to sense himself that she was hesitant to really throw herself into the adventure for fear of the baby and had stayed with her, kept an eye on her, made her feel better and more secure that there was someone watching out for her.

But Rory was on his honeymoon and in danger and he wasn't there. And that might be a good thing because, ever since she'd called him 'Uncle Rory' he'd taken to that role with gusto. She could only imagine his reaction to the Doctor encouraging her to jump down a chimney while pregnant. She knew it was only a matter of time before Rory came off his high of marrying Amy and being on his honeymoon and realized he didn't know much about what had happened to produce the baby in question. She had begun to tell him when he'd found out, but then he'd been erased from time and then he'd come back as time itself was collapsing...and then he'd gotten married. So it was understandable that his mind wasn't on finishing that conversation, but she knew that it would be coming soon.

She was actually scared for the Doctor, as he had said, Rory had a 'hell of a gun-arm' and she didn't want Rory to overreact. She...got the impression that he still retained a bit of his memories as a Roman soldier. She saw it at times, a look in his eyes, and she just...she wasn't sure how she could explain it in a way that would keep the Doctor safe from any rash actions when she herself wasn't even sure what was going on or why he'd forgotten her. And, to be honest, she didn't want to really talk about it at the moment. Rory was SO happy with Amy, with starting his life as the girl's husband, well...happy besides for the ship crashing...and she didn't want to dampen that feeling for him. She knew she'd likely cry having to talk about everything and the last thing she wanted at the moment was to upset Rory too or put a damper on his wedded bliss.

So she'd wait, till he was settled and ready and things had calmed down, and then she'd set him aside and...they'd talk.

"But it was fun!" he argued.

"So was visiting the President again," she countered, they'd met the man once before, helped him out when he'd been stranded on another world when he'd been but a teenager and had been amazed that he was now president of an entire world.

"That _wasn't_ fun," he pouted.

Angel frowned and blinked, "Why not? He was perfectly polite and very welcoming..." the man had given her a large hug and a kiss to the cheek before complimenting her on her appearance and asking what he could do for them.

"He didn't say hello to me," the Doctor muttered.

Well that was a lie, he HAD said hello to both of them, but...to him...the President had focused on Angel a bit too much. Which had put him in a fouler mood than he was already. The President...to him...had fawned all over Angel, tripped over himself to make a call to try and help the starliner, and that second kiss on the cheek the man had given her when they'd left had been completely unneccessary. And Angel shouldn't have kissed the man on the cheek in return for thanks because the man hadn't been able to help at all! Whatever call he'd made had failed and so they'd had to go to the TARDIS and trace the call to this mansion with a spire and an old man and Angel shouldn't have kissed him back even in thanks and now the children were staring at him as though he were mad.

"Fat fella?" the little boy asked, an adorable confused expression on his face.

"Father Christmas," the Doctor turned to the boy, thankful for the distraction of recalling that meeting with the President, "Santa Claus...or, as I've always known him, Jeff."

"There's no such person as Father Christmas."

"Oh, yeah?" he pulled out a black and white photo, "Me, Angel, and Father Christmas, Frank Sinatra's hunting lodge, 1952. See him at the back with the blonde...Albert Einstein. The four of us together...hrrroom! Watch out! I think we nearly gave Angel a hearts attack that night. Ok? Keep the faith, stay off the naughty list," he winked at the kids before spotting a flashing device in the back, "Oh! Now, what's this? And I love this, a big flashy lighty thing, that's what brought us here," he walked over to a large control panel covered with knobs, buttons, and flashing lights, "Big flashy lighty things have got me written all over them. Not actually, but give me time...and a crayon."

"Don't," Angel warned the children, "Please don't. And don't give him any sweets for that matter. It took me _hours_ to get his drawings off the walls and convince the TARDIS not to kill him the last time he had both."

She'd actually been rather sad to have to get the drawings off the walls. Because of what they were. It seemed when the Doctor had sweets he was even more hyper than normal and his mind raced even more so...he'd gone a bit mad and started drawing on the walls in markers, made an entire long picture all along one particular hallway. It was...lovely, really, and...she noticed little hints of...something...in it. There were sketches of past companions and...her. But the images of her were of her in outfits and with scenes in the background of memories he claimed he couldn't remember, memories that, when she looked, were _really_ missing. And the Doctor hadn't even seemed to notice he'd just drawn it quickly and then run off down the hall when a 'brilliant' idea had struck him of another adventure to go on, that had been right before they'd met Craig now that she thought about it. It had hurt her to have to wash those little moments away but the TARDIS had started to hum very, VERY loudly and very angrily at being drawn on by her Pilot so she'd had to clean it away.

The Doctor pouted and sat in a chair before the controls, swiveling to face the old man, "Now, this big flashy lighty thing is connected to the spire in your dome, yeah, and it controls the sky," he stood up and walked forward, glancing over when he noticed Angel hadn't gone with him but was frowning and looking at a pod set up a few feet away, "Well, technically, it controls the clouds, which technically aren't clouds at all. Well, they're clouds of tiny particles of ice. Ice clouds, love that. Who's she?" he pointed at the blonde woman in the pod.

"Nobody important," the old man sneered.

"Nobody important?" the Doctor scoffed, moving over to the pod and glancing in, "Blimey, that's amazing. Do you know," he glanced back, "In 900 years of time and space, I've never met anyone who wasn't important before."

"And she is very," Angel remarked, eyeing the container from across the room.

'... _I've warned you before about this, you stupid, ignorant, ridiculous child_...'

... _the blonde woman reached out and pulled what looked like a younger Kazran into a kiss_...

'... _all my life, I've been called heartless. My other life, my real life, the one you rewrote. Now look at me_...'

Angel smiled and glanced at the old man, "Or she will be," the Doctor looked at her smile curiously before turning and heading back to the controls and started fiddling with them, "They won't work," Angel told him quietly.

"Oh, they will. 'Cos, this console is the key to saving that ship, or I'll eat my hat...if I had a hat. I'll eat someone's hat. Not someone who's using their hat, I don't want to shock a nun, or something. Sorry, rambling, 'cos...'cos this isn't working!"

"I told you."

"The controls are isomorphic, one to one, they respond only to me," the old man added.

"Oh, you fibber..." the Doctor looked back at him, "Isomorphic! There's no such thing."

"The Master's laser screwdriver," Angel reminded him.

The old man rolled his eyes and stepped forward, flipping a switch and turning the machine off and then back on. The Doctor tried the same switch and nothing happened. He flicked the toggle a few more times with the same result before sonicing the controls and then the old man, looking at the readings before declaring, "These controls are isomorphic!"

"No…" Angel replied sarcastically, "Why didn't I sense that and tell you…oh that's right, I _did_ tell you that!"

"You're in a very snarky mood," he commented.

"The skies of this entire world are mine," the old man cut in, "My family tamed them, and now I own them."

"Tamed the sky? What does _that_ mean?"

"It means I'm Kazran Sardick. How can you possibly _not_ know who I am?"

"We're very easily bored," Angel remarked, crossing her arms.

"Yup snarky," the Doctor nodded before spinning around to Kazran, trying to remember the main point of them being there but...it was rather difficult.

He wasn't used to Angel being...snarky. She was usually so kind but, he had noticed lately she was a bit...odd. There were times where she was so happy but then fell quiet, or was laughing and then snarky like now. He knew Time Lords could have rather extreme mood swings, he had them all the time, but he was so used to Angel being constant, calm and collected and soothing...to hear her being sarcastic or snarky was off-putting. It made him worried that something was bothering her. She'd had a lot to deal with lately, what with his regeneration and then losing Rory and being hit by a Dalek and then erased from time and now...

Oh. He blinked, NOW he understood what was going on. She'd lost Rory and it had been truly so hard for her to bear, but then she'd gotten him back and now he was in danger again! Yes, that had to be it! She was worried about Rory, of course she was, he was very worried about Amy as well, and this man, this Kazran Sardick wasn't helping them at all and it WAS rather upsetting. Angel only ever got very extreme in her reactions when the people she cared about were in danger.

"So, we need your help, then," he looked at Kazran.

"Make an appointment," the man dismissed the Doctor.

"4,003 people are trapped in a spaceship that's being tossed about by your cloud belt," Angel walked forward, frowning, "If you don't do something they could die!"

"Yes?" he looked at her as though waiting for her to finish.

"You don't have to let that happen," the Doctor said.

"I know, but I'm going to," he smirked, "Bye bye. Bored now…Chuck!" one of the servants grabbed the Doctor and Angel's arm, escorting them out. The Doctor ducked out of the man's grip but that only meant he gripped Angel tighter so she couldn't get out as well. He walked over to Kazran who had sat down in an armchair and looked up at the Doctor, "Oh, look at you, looking all tough now."

"There are 4,003 people I won't allow to die tonight. Do you know where that puts you?"

"Where?"

"4,004."

"Was that a sort of threaty thing?"

"Whatever happens here tonight," Angel called, eyeing Kazran with a sad look on her face, "Remember...you brought it on yourself."

"Yeah, yeah, right," he scoffed, "Get them out of here. And next time, try and find me some _funny_ poor people."

The Doctor was forced towards the door, along with Angel and the family, when the little boy picked up a lump of coal and threw it at Kazran, hitting him on the head. He stormed over to the boy, raising his hand to strike him.

"No, stop, don't!" the Doctor yelled...when Angel grabbed his arm and simply watched, tense.

"Don't you dare!" the boy's father threatened, "You leave him!"

Kazran lowered his hand, "Get him out of here! Get that foul-smelling family _out_ of here! Out!" the family was pulled out of the room as Kazran stalked back to his chair, pausing when he noticed the Doctor and Angel still there, "What? What do you want?"

"A simple life," the Doctor replied, though Angel was silent, not about to say 'my baby to be ok' with the Doctor right beside her, "But you didn't hit the boy."

"Well, I will next time!"

"You won't," Angel said knowingly, a small smile on her face.

The Doctor looked at her, seeing the smile, and then back at Kazran, and back to Angel, realizing why she'd held him back from stopping Kazran hitting the boy, she knew he wouldn't go through with it, but why? The Doctor turned back to Kazran and eyed him, "What am I missing?" he walked past Kazran, looking at the room while Angel stood before the man and watched.

"Get out!" Kazran snapped, "Get out of this house!"

"The chairs! Of course, the chairs! Stupid me, the chairs!"

"The...chairs?"

"There's a portrait on the wall behind me," the Doctor spun around to face him, but pointed at a portrait of a very familiar-looking man hanging behind him, "Looks like you, but it's too old, so it's your father. All the chairs are angled away from it. Daddy's been dead for 20 years. But you _still_ can't get comfortable where he can see you. There's a Christmas tree in the painting, but none in this house, on Christmas Eve. You're..."

"Scared," Angel cut in softly, seeing the Doctor's words overwhelming the man, "Of your dad. Even more scared of becoming him."

The Doctor nodded and pointed at her with a brilliant smile, "And good for you, you're not like him, not really. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Kazran frowned.

"Because _you_ didn't hit him," Angel said, with a soft smile, "Merry Christmas, Kazran."

"I _despise_ Christmas!"

"You shouldn't," the Doctor said, walking away, "It's very you."

"It's what? What do you mean?"

"Halfway out of the dark," he smiled, turning to leave with Angel as the servants returned.

"Get her downstairs with the others!" Kazran glared at the pod, "Clean up this mess!"

~8~

"Everything's offline!" the secondary pilot shouted, "Secondary furnace just vented."

Amy quickly grabbed the comm. Angel had told her to bring and called up the Doctor, "Have you got a plan yet?"

~8~

"Yes, I do," the Doctor nodded as they reached the front door and stepped out into the cold.

"Are you lying?"

"Yes," Angel replied.

"Doctor either don't treat me like an idiot or give Angel the comm.," he winced at that.

"Was he lying?" they heard Rory speak.

"No, no," she laughed tensely.

"Ok, the good news," the Doctor continued as they walked own into the street, "I've tracked the machine that unlocks the cloud belt. I could use it to clear you a flight corridor and you could land easily."

"Oh, hey, hey, that's great news."

"But he doesn't have access or control of it," Angel told them.

"Less great."

"But I've met a man who can," the Doctor stated.

"Ah, well, there you go!"

"But he doesn't really like the Doctor," Angel finished.

"Was he being extra charming and clever?"

"Very much so."

"How did you know?" the Doctor frowned, "You're not psychic too are you?"

"Lucky guess."

The father from inside the house called over to them, "Sir...ma'am…"

"Hang on," the Doctor called into the comm. as they walked over to the father.

"I've never seen anybody stand up to Mr. Sardick like that," he laughed, eagerly moving to shake their hands, "Bless you, sir, and Merry Christmas ma'am."

"Merry Christmas," Angel offered.

"Lovely," the Doctor agreed, before holding up the comm., "Sorry, bit busy."

"You'd better get inside," the father added, "The fog's thick tonight, and there's a fish warning."

"Oh, right, yeah," the Doctor nodded, before realizing, "Sorry, fish?"

"Yeah. You know what they're like when they get a bit hungry."

"Yeah, fish, I know fish. ...fish?"

"It's all Mr. Sardick's fault, I reckon. He always lets a few fish through the cloud layer when he's in a bad mood. Thank you. Bless you once again, sir, ma'am," and he pulled down his goggles and left with his family.

" _Fish_?"

"Doctor, the captain says we've got less than an hour..." Amy called, "What should we be doing?"

"Doctor," Angel murmured, drawing his attention, "Fish…" she nodded at the street light where small fish were swimming around it like moths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww, got a little look into Rory's head there :) And Angel :) And yay! The Doctor is noticing something is off about Angel, too bad he brushed it off as her being worried about Rory :( I really enjoyed writing this episode and I can't wait till you get the last chapter, there's a little bit of a twist in it ;)


	47. A Christmas Carol: Sharks

"Fish!" the Doctor grinned, staring at the little fish in awe.

"Sorry, what?" Amy shouted over the sounds of crashing and bangs in the ship.

"Fish that can swim in fog," he glanced at Angel, "I love new planets."

"I know," Angel gave him a soft smile, that was one thing she really and truly loved about him.

He had once told Amy that he 'couldn't see it anymore,' the wonders of the Universe. But she was fairly certain that it was just the big wonders, like...supernovas or seeing planets forming, though that always took HER breath away to see, the Doctor had seen it happen so often...well, she could understand that. But to her, no two stars, no two planets, were the same, and that always made it unique. She could see it now though, the little things getting to him, the wonders of a fish swimming in fog was a wonder on this planet and he could see it too.

She couldn't help but let her hand rest on her too-small bump as the Doctor moved towards the street light, she hoped that the baby would be like him in that, able to see how wonderful things were, how amazing, even something as small as fish. She bit her lip though, she...she was trying not to do that, think too much on what the baby might be like, what he or she might grow up to be. She was all too aware that anything could go wrong at any moment at all and...there would be no future like that. She wished with everything she had that it wouldn't happen that way, that just once the Universe would hear her bargain and agree to it, give her the baby, but...in the back of her mind, she knew the chance was rather large that she wouldn't be the lucky one of her family. For all the Doctor had called her his good luck charm, she hadn't really had that much luck on Gallifrey and, given his amnesia, she was starting to think her momentary romance with him was just a fluke of luck instead.

She was trying not to think of what the baby would look like as a child or as an adult, whether it was a boy or girl, even names she hadn't given a thought to...because...it would hurt. It would hurt too much if she thought of all that, if she planned for it, if she hoped for it too badly and then...she lost it. If she started to give it names then it was real, then it was a far more real possibility in her mind and she'd be...too attached to it. Not that she wasn't already. She loved it more than anything, it was literally all she had left of the old Doctor, and that scared her. She had never loved anything so suddenly before, not even the Doctor. Their love had grown over time, but this...the moment she'd found out she was pregnant her hearts had just...taken the baby in. And try as she might she felt more love for her baby every day, because...every day was one day closer to it possibly being born healthy and alive.

And she knew she couldn't hope that far ahead. If she lost the baby...if it...if it died and she felt too much for it, it would break her more than the Doctor's amnesia, than River Song's cutting remarks ever could.

So she tried not to think too far ahead because, no matter what she did, she couldn't _see_ that far ahead either. She didn't know what would happen with the baby, she didn't know and for that reason alone she had to be careful with her hope.

It was such a fragile thing, to lose that...

She didn't even want to think about it, about what she might become if she ever lost all hope.

"Doctor!" Amy snapped, startling Angel out of her thoughts, "Doctor, please don't get distracted!"

Angel sighed, looking over to see him beaming up at the fishes, completely enthralled by them, "It's too late Amy."

"Now, why would people be frightened of you tiny little fellas?" the Doctor held up his hand as the fish nipped at his fingers before scooting back a moment, as though staring at something, and scurrying past him.

He turned around to see they were now swimming around Angel, literally whizzing around her, one even floating right up to her cheek and nibbling on it as though giving her a small kiss which made her laugh at the tickling sensation. The Doctor couldn't help but smile softly at the sight, it was far better when fish-who-weren't-other-men made her smile and laugh like that. THAT was perfectly acceptable in his book, fish were animals and not people (boys) and they were small and innocent...a lot like Angel was. Literally, she was a bit short in this incarnation and very...dainty...especially in her flowing dress, it made her look like she needed protection, though he knew it was nothing of the sort, the Vortex could protect her well enough and her visions would always help her be ready for an attack...mostly. But...he couldn't help but feel that protective streak rise in him. There were times when she was in danger, like when she'd been taken below the earth, and all he could think about was getting her back and that fear that struck him. He didn't like her being in danger and he'd sworn to himself that he would do whatever he could to make sure she'd be ok, she'd be safe and protected. She was the last Time Lady after all!

Though...there were times where he felt like that drive went...a bit beyond her simply being the last Time Lady...he wasn't sure what exactly the beyond was, but...it happened. Quite a lot really. More and more.

"Look at you," he cooed at the fish as Angel walked over to him, bringing the fish with her, "Sweet little fishy-wish...ow!" he pouted, snapping his hand away as one of the fish nipped a bit hard on his finger he'd been wagging at it...like it had bit him. But the pout became a small smile when he heard Angel laugh just a little at it, well that was alright then, he hadn't seen her really laugh or smile since Rory and Amy's wedding...and most of it had been because of Rory, so the fact that HE had made her laugh, even if it meant he'd gotten bitten to do it, was just fine, "Mind you," he realized, "Fish in the fog, so the cloud cover..." he looked up at the very, very large sky and winced, thinking about what sort of fish might be swimming up there, a whale could probably fit there...and if a whale could, sharks and other predators could as well, "Oh," he lifted the comm., "Careful up there."

"Oh, great, thanks, Doctor, because there was a real danger we were all going to nod off!" Amy replied sarcastically, "We've got..."

"Less than an hour," Angel cut in, "I know Amy, and I promise, everything will be ok," she crossed her hearts, the movement scattering the fish.

The Doctor looked over at a large clock tower just as it struck 11 and 'Ding Dong Merrily on High' started to play over the speakers behind them.

"How are you getting us off here?" Amy asked.

"Oh, just give me a minute!" he turned and started pacing.

"We can't take the TARDIS," Angel murmured, "The ship's moving too much for her to get a proper lock," they'd tried like mad to do it, but even with the TARDIS helping them the ship was just jostling too much.

He nodded, "So that ship needs to land, but it can't land unless a very bad man suddenly decides to turn nice, just in time for Christmas Day!"

"Doctor, I can't hear you," Amy called as the song grew louder behind them, "What is that? Is that singing?"

"A Christmas carol."

"A what?"

"A Christmas carol!"

"A what?"

"A CHRISTMAS CAROL!"

"Doctor!"

"Oh no…" Angel rubbed her head, feeling a migraine coming.

This was NOT what she needed. She was tired, no matter how much the Pandorica had restored her and the baby to health, she still felt as weary as she had when she'd been shot by the Dalek and she HAD been awake for nearly 2,000 years, she was just...she wanted this to be a quick and easy fix, but she should have known, with the Doctor's luck it wouldn't be. One Christmas, just one, that was _all_ she wanted. One Christmas without some deadly danger popping up.

She sighed, find the one good thing...she looked around, well at least it wasn't killer robots this year.

The Doctor, oblivious to her exasperation, looked up at the sky, a sly smile crossing his face, "Kazran Sardick!"

"Doctor!" Amy yelled.

"Merry Christmas, Kazran Sardick!" he turned to Angel and grinned, before rushing off down the street where the TARDIS had rematerialized, following her Pilots.

~8~

Kazran had fallen asleep in his chair after such a very hard day of being an old miser, when a recording started playing on the wall before him. A projection of a little boy, sitting in his bedroom, speaking to the camera, "Hello. My name is Kazran Sardick. I'm 12 and a half and this is my bedroom."

"Top secret special project," he murmured in his sleep.

"This is my top secret special project. For my eyes only. Merry Christmas!" the boy added with a wide, innocent smile.

"Kazran, Kazran!" a stern man yelled from somewhere on the projection.

Kazran jolted awake, watching the screen with wide eyes as a man he recognized as his father stormed into the boy's...into HIS...bedroom.

"Kazran, what are you doing? What are you doing?!" he glared at the camera which made Kazran jump up and stumble back in fear, as though the man on screen could really see him and knew he was there, as though he'd jump out of the projection and come after him, but then he turned back to the boy, "I've warned you before about this, you stupid, ignorant, ridiculous child!"

"I was just going to make a film of the fish," Young Kazran defended, shrinking back from the intimidating man.

"The fish are dangerous!"

"I just want to _see_ them."

"Don't be stupid, you're far too young!"

"Everyone at school's seen the fish."

"That's enough!" he pointed a warning finger at his son, "You'll be singing to them next, like gypsies."

"The singing works! I've seen it. The fish like the singing!"

Kazran swallowed hard, backing up closer to the wall behind him, putting as much distance as he could between the projection and memory of his father and himself, though he was still watching the video, entranced.

"What does it matter what fish like?"

"People say we don't have to be afraid of the fish," Young Kazran tried to explain, "They're not really interested in us."

"You don't listen to people! You listen to _me_!" and with that...he backhanded his son.

Kazran himself flinched, closing his eyes tightly a moment, reaching a hand to his cheek, feeling a phantom sting in his cheek, he'd felt that all too often as a child.

"Ow!" Young Kazran cried, ducking his head and covering his face, "I'm sorry, Father!"

"This is _my_ house!"

The Doctor and Angel entered silently from the side room Angel had parked the TARDIS in before, coming to stand behind Kazran, Angel watching as Young Kazran sobbed at his desk, her hand automatically resting on her bump while the Doctor walked over to Kazran. She couldn't imagine that, her father had struck her once or twice as a child, yes, but he was always so repentant after that, the Kazran she saw on the screen...something told her this happened FAR too much to him and, judging by the man his father was, the man was not repentant at all. It made her want to jump through the screen and shield him from the man, give the little boy a fierce hug and tell him it would be alright...

The Doctor paused behind Kazran and put a hand on the old man's shoulder, seeing him shaking from the memory the projection was bringing up, "It's ok. It's ok."

Kazran jerked away from his touch and spun around, "What have you done? What is this?"

"Found it on an old drive. Sorry about the picture quality, had to recover the data using quantum enfolding and a paperclip," he sat down in Kazran's armchair and picked up the newspaper while Angel walked closer to the projection, just watching sadly, staring at the little boy, feeling her hearts break at how that innocent little boy, who had smiled so widely in just the first few seconds of making the recording could grow up to be the bitter old man behind them, "Oh, I wouldn't bother calling your servants," the Doctor added as Kazran headed for a rope to sound the alarm for his men, "They quit. Apparently they won the lottery, at exactly the same time, which is a bit lucky when you think about it."

"There isn't a lottery."

"Yeah, as I say, lucky," he smirked.

"I told you one day that excuse would bite you," Angel remarked distractedly, frowning as Kazran's father came back to the camera from where he'd gone to pull a very large circular window in the back of the room shut.

"There's a fog warning tonight," the man had the nerve to glare at his son, "You keep these windows closed, understand? Closed!"

"Who are you?" Kazran eyed them.

"Tonight, I'm the Ghost of Christmas Past," the Doctor replied, lowering the newspaper.

"Mrs. Mantovani will be looking after you tonight," the father continued, "You stay here till she comes. Do you understand? Do you understand?!"

"You never got to see the fish," Angel murmured as Young Kazran nodded quickly, watching as his father stormed out of the room, "Did you?"

"What does that matter to you?" Kazran spat at her.

"It obviously mattered to you," she nodded at the projection where Young Kazran was crying, his father having slammed the door in his departure.

He looked on as well, watching a moment, "I cried all night, and I learned life's most invaluable lesson."

"Which is?" the Doctor looked up.

"Nobody comes. Get out! Get out of my house!"

"Ok, ok," the Doctor stepped back, heading towards the side room with Angel, "But we'll be back. Way back. Way, way back," Angel opened the door as the projection played and they stepped through.

Kazran glared at the door, listening to the wheezing sound of the TARDIS disappearing, before spinning around, hearing the _same_ sound, but fainter, right behind him. He watched as Young Kazran lifted his head from the desk and turned to the circular window where the Doctor and Angel had appeared.

Kazran could only stare in wide-eyed shock at seeing them on the projection when they hadn't been before.

"See?" the Doctor called, "Back!" he pushed open the window.

"Who are you?" Young Kazran sniffled.

"Hi. I'm the Doctor and this is Angel. We're your new babysitters!" he jumped down into the room, Angel squatting down and hopping off the side, sighing because at least she hadn't flinched this time when the 'and this is Angel' didn't include 'my Mate.'

"Where's Mrs. Mantovani?"

"Oh, you'll never guess! Clever old Mrs. Manters, she only went and won the lottery!" he jumped on the bed and bounced.

"There isn't any lottery!" Kazran shouted at the screen.

"There isn't any lottery," Young Kazran called.

"I know," the Doctor grinned, "What a woman!"

He jumped off the bed as Angel walked over to Young Kazran, "Hello Kazran," Angel smiled at him, kneeling before him and taking his hands and squeezing them, "My aren't you a handsome boy."

"Oi!" the Doctor pouted, before even realizing he'd said anything.

Angel shook her head, "And you're a handsome man," she added, eyeing him oddly when he positively _beamed_ at that, seeming rather pleased with her compliment, before he spun around and looked around the room. She blinked and turned back to Young Kazran, reaching out one hand to wipe the lingering tears away, "Much better," she winked at him.

The young boy smiled up at her, looking at her with...a small amount of awe really, no one was really that affectionate with him, before glancing at the Doctor, "If you're my babysitters, why are you climbing in the window?"

"'Cos if we were climbing out, we'd be going in the wrong direction," the Doctor remarked, "Pay attention."

"Mrs. Mantovani's _always_ my babysitter."

"Times change," he walked over and peered into the camera, "Wouldn't you say? You see...Christmas Past," he pointed at himself.

"Who are you talking to?" Young Kazran eyed him oddly.

"You," he grinned at young Kazran and then proceeded to speak into the camera, "Now, your past is going to change. That means your memories will too. Scary, but you'll get the hang of it."

"I don't understand."

"I'll bet you don't! I wish I could see your face," he started pointing between Young Kazran and the camera.

"But that never happened!" Kazran shouted, turning away with wide eyes, "But it _did_!"

~8~

"Right, then!" the Doctor sat on the bed as Angel moved to sit on the desk beside Kazran's recorder, her arm around the young boy's shoulders, just wanting to comfort him more, she hated seeing children crying, "Your bedroom. Great! Let's see, you're 12 years old, so we'll stay away from under the bed," he looked around before grinning, "Cupboard! Big cupboard, I love a cupboard…" he ran over to it and opened it, looking around when suddenly…

~oOo~

… _Angel laughed as she dashed out of the cupboard with his sonic in her hand, wiggling it triumphantly at him as she turned to face him across the hall from the cupboard. He nearly stumbled out, his eyes wide and dazed, hair mussed, tie slightly askew, his lips looking just a bit swollen..._

_"Well?" Angel asked him, a sly grin on her face, highly, highly amused by the state he was in._

_He blinked a few times, his mouth opening and closing, trying (and failing) to get his mind working again after that little experience, that little...surprising...wonderful...amazing experience._

_"Well…" he swallowed, looking at her, "That's one way to get the sonic off me," she giggled as he smoothed down his hair, recalling the faint groans she'd heard coming from him when she'd played with it to get it all stuck up like it was, "But…"_

_"But?" she eyed him._

_The next thing she knew, her back was pressed against the corridor wall behind her making her gasp lightly, him holding her arms on either side of her, near her shoulders, his body pressed against her, letting her feel the heat rolling off it, "But two can play at that game," and with that, he leaned forward and kissed her deeply, making her squirm against him. He lowered her arms, trailing his hands down them till he found the sonic, grabbing it, and stepping back, "Ha ha!" he cried, victorious, holding up the sonic._

_Angel panted a bit, as breathless as he had been, "Touché."_

_He laughed, reaching out a hand to take hers, kissing the back of it before they headed off down the hallway, flipping the sonic in his hand and sticking it back in his pocket with the thought that...maybe he ought to switch pockets from time to time, give Angel a bit of a challenge next time she tried to do THAT._

_Oh he was SO hoping there would be a next time..._

~oOo~

The Doctor cleared his throat, having NO idea where that had come from, and glanced back at Angel to see her watching him and looked back at the cupboard quickly, certain his face was red as a tomato. That had been...something, something he wasn't sure how to explain, "Do you know, there's a thing called a face spider," he began to ramble, his voice going squeaky, trying to move his mind _off_ that very unexpected figment of his imagination, that very...um, nice...figment of his imagination, that had no right to be in his head, that wasn't right, he shouldn't be imagining Angel like that, them in a cupboard, together...doing things. It was disrespectful, really!

"It's just like a tiny baby's head with spider legs," he continued, really trying now to keep his mind from wandering back to that image, again, "And it's specifically evolved to scuttle up the backs of bedroom cupboards..." he closed the door, taking a breath, now calm and turned around.

"Which you probably shouldn't have mentioned," Angel cut in with a nod at Kazran, who was now eyeing his cupboard warily.

But the Doctor was just staring at her, at her lips really, unable to get the image of her right before he'd kissed her in his fantasy out of his head. They were different lips than he pictured, new lips...he frowned at that, why had he imagined her last self kissing him? He shook his head, looking around the room, at anything really, except Angel, this was getting a bit ridiculous and making him feel rather...odd.

"Right," he muttered and walked back in front of Kazran, "So what are we going to do?" he pointed at Kazran, focusing on him instead, "Eat crisps and talk about girls? I've never actually done that, but I bet it's easy. Girls! Yeah?" he winced, the only girl he really ever talked about was Angel...which just made him think of that image again, "Actually, no, no, let's not talk about girls, let's talk about trees eh? They're...fun, right?"

Angel gave him an odd look, "Are you alright Doctor?" his mind was racing so fast and changing track so quickly she had NO idea what was going on in that mind of his.

"Fine!" he half-shouted, his voice going very squeaky as he looked at her and then forced his gaze to the ceiling, which only made her frown more...why didn't he want to look at her?

"Are you really a babysitter?" Kazran eyed him suspiciously, that Angel girl was more like one he'd imagine than the Doctor was.

"Well _I_ am," Angel told him with a squeeze, confirming his thoughts with a gentle smile, "I babysit him," she nodded at the Doctor, "24/7."

Kazran gave a little laugh at that.

"Oi!" the Doctor frowned, finally looking away from the chipping paint of the ceiling to look at them, "I think you'll find I'm universally recognized as a mature and responsible adult," he proclaimed, showing Kazran the psychic paper.

Angel stared at it blankly, STILL unable to see it, but Kazran just told him, "It's just a lot of wavy lines."

The Doctor pulled it back and looked at it, "Yeah, it's shorted out. Finally, a lie too big," he sighed and put it away.

"Rule 1," Angel whispered to the boy, "The Doctor lies all the time. Rule 2," she winked, "I won't. So no, we're not really babysitters."

"But it's Christmas Eve!" the Doctor cheered, "You don't want a real one, you want us."

"Why?" Kazran looked at him, "What's so special about you?"

"Have you ever seen 'Mary Poppins?'"

"No."

"Good. 'Cos that comparison would've been rubbish. Fish in the fog, fish in the clouds. How do people ever get bored? How did boredom even get invented?" he moved to stand at the open window.

"My dad's invented a machine to control the cloud belt," Kazran looked at Angel, "Tame the sky, he says. The fish'll be able to come down, but only when we let them. We can charge whatever we like."

The Doctor turned to face him, "Yeah. We've seen your dad's machine."

Angel frowned, spotting something large pass behind the Doctor, as she got up and walked over to him, looking out the window, trying to spot it again.

"What? You can't have."

"Tame the sky...Human Beings, you always manage to find the boring alternative, don't you? You want to see one? A fish. We can do that. We can see a fish."

"Aren't you going to tell me it's dangerous?"

"Dangerous?!" the Doctor laughed, "Come on, we're boys! And you know what boys say in the face of danger."

"What?"

"Mummy!"

Angel just shook her head at them. She didn't have to be psychic to know this would not end well.

~8~

The sonic screwdriver was tied to a string and pulley, hanging from the ceiling, the other half of the string continuing into the cupboard where the Doctor and Angel and Kazran were sitting, the Doctor on one side of the young boy (where he'd rushed to sit) and Angel on the other.

"Are there any face spiders in here?" Kazran asked, tensing as he looked around.

"It's alright Kazran," Angel put an arm around him again to comfort him.

"Nah, not at this time of night," the Doctor waved it off as he sat with his hand up, the string looped around his finger, "They'll all be sleeping in your mattress."

"Doctor," Angel called, shaking her head over the boy's head.

He nodded, "So...why are you so interested in fish?"

"'Cos they're scary," Kazran offered.

"Good answer."

"What kind of tie is that?" he pointed at the Doctor's bowtie.

"A cool one."

"Why is it cool?"

"Why are you REALLY interested in fish?" Angel asked him with a knowing smile.

"Don't bother lying," the Doctor added, "She's psychic, she'll know."

Kazran sighed, not really believing him but not feeling right about lying to a lady, "My school. During the last fog belt, the nets broke and there was an attack. Loads of them, a whole shoal. No one was hurt, but it was the most fish ever seen below the mountains."

"Were you scared?" the Doctor looked at him.

"I wasn't there. I was off sick."

"Ooh, lucky you…" Kazran put his head down, "Not lucky?"

"It's _all_ anyone ever talks about now, the day the fish came. Everyone's got a story."

"But you don't," he looked at the camera they'd brought with them, sitting on the other side of the cupboard from them, "I see."

"Why are you recording this?"

"Do you pay attention at school, Kazran?"

"Sorry, what?" Kazran frowned as Angel smiled.

"'Cos you're not paying attention now," he looked at his finger where the string was tugging, "Shh!"

~8~

"Now I remember," Kazran breathed as he sat down heavily on his chair, watching the screen as the Doctor stood and moved to open the door, Angel getting up as well, "No, Doctor, you mustn't! Angel stop him!"

~8~

"Doctor, are you sure?" Kazran watched him.

"Trust me," the Doctor replied as Angel stepped around the boy to stand behind him.

"Ok," he sighed.

"Oi! Eyes on the tie. Look at me. I wear it and I don't care. Trust me?"

~8~

"Yes," Kazran breathed.

~8~

"Yes," Kazran smiled.

"That's why it's cool," Angel smiled lightly at the boy, reaching out a hand to ruffle his hair as she passed.

The Doctor turned and opened the door, slowly entering the room, Angel following after and shutting the door behind her. They smiled, seeing a small fish investigating the screwdriver, nipping at it with curiosity, "Hello, fishy," the Doctor slowly walked around to it, pressed against the wall so as not to disturb it or cause it to scurry off, "Let's see. Interesting. Crystalline fog, eh? Maybe carrying a tiny electrical charge. Is that how you fly, little fishy?"

"What is it?" Kazran spoke through the cupboard, "What kind? Can I see?"

"Just stay there a moment," Angel called, a frown starting to appear on her face as she looked past the Doctor and over at the window.

"Is it big?"

"Nah, just a little one," the Doctor leaned closer, "So, little fella, what do you eat?"

Angel pulled him back sharply, moments before a shark swam into the room and swallowed the fish, sonic and all.

"How little?"

"Erm..."

"Can I come out?"

"No!" Angel said quickly, slowly pulling the Doctor along, edging them to the door, though her eyes were on the shark, ready to use the Vortex for a shield if necessary.

"No," he agreed, "Maybe just...wait there for a moment."

"What color is it?" Kazran called.

"Big. Big color."

Angel opened the door to the cupboard and they dashed inside, slamming it shut behind them only for the shark to pound against it, "What's happening?" Kazran's eyes widened.

"Well, concentrating on the plusses, you've definitely got a story of your own now," the Doctor smiled, "Also, I got a good look at the fish, and I understand the fog, which'll help me land a spaceship in the future, and save a lot of lives. And I'll get some readings off my sonic screwdriver when I get it off the shark in your bedroom."

"There's a shark in my bedroom?!"

"Oh, fine, focus on _that_ part!"

The banging stopped and Kazran cast a wary look at the door, "Has it gone? What's it doing?"

"What do you call it if you don't have any feet, and you're taking a run-up?"

Angel just grabbed Kazran and pulled him and the Doctor back from the door just as the shark broke through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor 'fantasized(!)' about Angel! Woo! I mean, I know it's really a memory, but HE thinks he's imagining him and Angel together. He remembers the memory-flash! ...he thinks it's just a figment of his imagination...but he remembered the flash! O.O ^-^


	48. A Christmas Carol: Abigail

Older Kazran jumped to his feet in his sitting room and rushed to the back wall as the video ended, the shark having knocked the recording apart. Despite not being able to see it in front of him it was like he was still seeing it in his mind, his memories forming, playing it as though it were happening, as though e were there he could remember it so vividly, "No!" he cried, flinching back as if the shark were in that very room, "It's going to eat us!"

~8~

The trio was on the floor, in the _far_ corner of the cupboard, out of reach from the shark who was, at the moment, wedged in the doorway, thrashing about. The shark opened its mouth, a green glow of the sonic inside it and Angel frowned. That couldn't be good for the poor shark, both being stuck in the door as that had to hurt its ribs, but also having the sonic in him. The sonic was very nearly indestructible, it wouldn't wear away over time, it would just...be there, forever in the shark's stomach and that would be bad for the shark. What if it thought it was full because of the constant presence of the sonic? What if it didn't eat enough and got ill or died? Yes the shark was currently trying to eat THEM, but...it was just an animal, it was living on instinct, and it was doing what was natural, hunting. What if it was a mother too? What if it was hunting for food for its babies?!

"It's going to eat us!" Kazran gasped, clinging to Angel, needing to feel safe with the shark looming at them, he didn't know why he chose her to hold onto. The Doctor was a man, he was clearly the one in the know, he was the 'man with a plan' he supposed, but...he was also the man who had the oh-so brilliant idea to rig up a lure for the fish and ended up getting them into that situation in the first place! Angel...all she had done since she'd entered his room was try to make him feel better and comforted and safe, and, to be honest, he was feeling safe at the moment, her arms around him, like he imagined his mother would do if she were still alive.

Sometimes he thought that was why his father was so mean to him, because he always said he looked like his mother, and his mother had died when he was very young, when she had given birth to him. Sometimes he thought his father blamed him for it and that, if he weren't the man's son, he'd have been cast out ages ago. It was...nice...having an older woman care about him like that, Mrs. Mantovani was very old and more like a great-grandmother than a mother and...that was all he really wanted, to know his mother. That was probably why he spent a lot of time around the gypsies as his father had rightly implied, because they were so close, such a tight family and always so happy and kind to each other. The mothers especially.

"It's going to eat us!" he shouted again as it snapped once more, making him flinch back and Angel hold him tighter, "It's going to eat us..." but then he noticed it wasn't really getting any closer as it really was wedged in the doorway, "Is it going to eat us?"

"Maybe we're going to eat it," the Doctor ventured, glancing at Angel for a clue as to how this would go, but she could only shrug and he nodded, she likely hadn't seen this coming, "But I don't like the odds," he turned back to the shark, eyeing it critically, "It's stuck, though. Let's see. Tiny brain. If I had my screwdriver, I could probably stun it."

"Well, where's your screwdriver?"

"Well, concentrating on the plusses...within reach. There's a real chance, the way it's wedged in the doorway, of keeping its mouth open."

"There is?"

"Agree with me. 'Cos I've only got two goes, and then it's your turn."

"Doctor don't," Angel shook her head, seeing where his mind was going, and not really needing to as this was something only he would think to do.

"Two goes?" Kazran shook his head.

"Two arms!" the Doctor held up his hands, "Right, then! Ok," he took a breath, looking at the shark, "Geronimo! Open wide!" he got up and lunged for the shark...only for Angel to yank him back by the back of his jacket.

"Don't you dare!" she shouted, pointing a warning finger at him. She waited a moment, making sure that he would stay back, waiting till he turned his hands around in surrender before she pushed herself up.

She looked at the shark, swallowing hard, not having a clue at all if this would work but...if a blind and injured Krafayis listened to her...maybe a hungry flying shark would too? She didn't know, but she had to try, she wasn't about to let the Doctor stick his arms into the mouth of a shark when she didn't know for sure if he'd be ok in the end. She inhaled deeply and slowly made her way towards the shark, her hands out at it, trying to make herself as unthreatening as possible, whispering soothingly to it the closer she came. She'd just tried to focus on being calm, on exuding that calm, hoping it might calm the shark the same way it used to calm the Doctor.

One had to be calm when dealing with the Doctor, the man, for all his claims of her being intuitive, was very much aware of the emotions around him, especially hers. Or he had been at least. She'd realized very early on that he reacted rather strongly to her own emotions. When she was scared he was protective, when she was sad he was comforting, when she was hurt he was murderous. She had to be calm around him in order for him to eventually calm, in order for her to get through to him. If SHE flew off the handle, he'd be close behind and ten times worse. So she always just tried to be calm, be that soothing force that tempered the Oncoming Storm. And it used to work.

And this was a shark, a flying shark, it lived in the cloud belt, in the biggest storm ever, if she could calm the Doctor...a shark was nothing. And, well, the TARDIS was there so the shark would understand her even if she didn't already speak Shark (passingly so it really was a good thing the TARDIS was there, her 'sea creature' wasn't very strong.)

Kazran watched in awe as the shark started to calm down at Angel's whispers, staring with wide eyes as the girl actually managed to put her hand on the shark's head, the beast relaxing under her touch enough to fall out of the door and to the floor.

"Kazran," Angel called, her one hand on the shark's head before she turned to hold her other hand out to him, "Do you want to pet her?"

Kazran blinked and looked at the Doctor for permission, to see if it was safe enough, only to see the man was shaking his head at Angel, a small, fond smile on his face, clearly this hadn't been the first time she'd been able to calm a vicious beast intent on eating them. He turned back to Angel to see her smiling encouragingly and nodded, hesitantly making his way to her, kneeling beside her as she took his hand and laid it to rest on the shark. He started to smile, feeling the shark breathing and not attacking and began to pet it.

~8~

Kazran and Angel were kneeling on a small section of roof outside Kazran's bedroom, on either side of the shark that they'd managed to coax into flying out of Kazran's room. However the poor shark had only hovered, making it just out the window before collapsing to the ground, alarming all of them as it shuddered and made heartbreaking pained noises. Angel was currently shushing it gently as she stroked its back, trying to comfort it, but having no idea what was wrong or if the Vortex could even be used to heal animals. She hadn't tried but...she got the feeling it wasn't anything physically wrong with the shark it was just...it was like when a fish was out of water too long, the sky was its water. It was lying on the ground almost motionless now, though more asleep as a result of Angel's ministrations though it seemed rather very weak.

"What's the big fishy done to you?" the Doctor frowned as he stood a few feet away, examining what was left of his sonic, leaving the shark to Angel and Kazran's care for now, they wouldn't be able to find out what was wrong without getting the sonic working, "Swallowed half of you, that's what. Half a screwdriver, what use is that? Bad, big fishy."

"Doctor?" Kazran looked up, "I think she's dying."

"Half my screwdriver's still inside," he sighed, turning around, "But yeah, I think so. I doubt they can survive long outside the cloud belt. Just quick raiding trips on a foggy night."

"Can't we get it back up there?" he sniffled and Angel reached over and took the boy's hand that was resting on the shark's back across from hers, "We just wanted to stop it. I didn't want to kill it."

"She was trying to _eat_ you."

"She was hungry."

~8~

Older Kazran sat in his chair, curled up, tears falling down his cheeks as he remembered the shark, the first fish he'd ever seen. It was odd, he should know what was going to happen, it was his past, he should know if the shark would be ok...but it seemed as though, as his memories rewrote themselves, it only happened as the Doctor and Angel were changing it, like it was happening parallel with their time in the past.

~8~

"I'm sorry, Kazran," the Doctor shook his head, "We can't save her."

Angel winced at that, not liking that, not wanting it to happen, and not willing to give up, "Couldn't we get her back to the cloud belt?" she looked at the Doctor.

He shook his head, "She'd never survive the trip. We need a fully functioning life-support."

"You mean like an icebox?" Kazran perked up, "Ok!" he jumped up, grabbing Angel's hand and pulling her towards the house, the Doctor following as they walked down a set of stairs into a sitting room. Kazran ran off to get a lamp while the Doctor got distracted by the giant Christmas tree set up in the corner.

"Oh, a tree!" he laughed.

"Doctor!" Angel called as Kazran took her hand again and led her down to the basement, the Doctor jogging after. The group stopping when they arrived at a thick metal door with a small window in it. Angel crossed her arms, a bit chilly, there was frost on the walls and she was starting to feel cold now, like the room inside was colder than it should be. It really took very extreme weather conditions for her or the Doctor to feel it but she'd noticed, since being pregnant, that she was a bit more sensitive to the temperatures.

The Doctor half-pressed his face to the small window, peering through it to see a large room lined with metal containers, like the pod the blonde woman had been in before when they'd first met Older Kazran, "What is this?" the Doctor asked.

"The surplus population," Kazran frowned, and they could both sense his unease with calling it that, "That's what my dad calls it," he added as they reached out, trying to turn the wheel on the door but it wouldn't budge, "Oh, it's not turning! Oh, why won't it turn?"

The Doctor used the partial sonic on the security pad beside the door but it didn't work, "Ah, what's the number?"

~8~

"7258," Older Kazran stated from his seat, jolting forward as though wanting to help them, actually wanting to give them the secret code to save the shark.

~8~

"I don't know!" Kazran shrugged.

"This place is full of alarms, it's not just the door. I need the number!" the Doctor ran back to the wheel as Angel closed her eyes and concentrated, wanting to try something.

If they were there with Younger Kazran, and Older Kazran's past was being rewritten perhaps there was some sort of temporal connection she could try to sense...

~8~

"7258!"

~8~

"I need the number!" the Doctor stated.

"I'm not allowed to know until I'm older."

The Doctor's eyes widened and he turned to dash off, but Angel called out, "Doctor wait!"

He turned to see her holding a hand up to stop him while her eyes were still closed, a look of concentration on her face, her eyebrows scrunched (adorably) together as she frowned, focusing...

~8~

"7258!"

~8~

'... _7258_...'

Angel smiled, beamed really, at hearing a ghostly whisper in her mind that sounded oddly enough like Older Kazran. She'd been trying for so long to 'force' a vision and while this wasn't exactly that, it was as close as she had ever come. And that was fantastic!

"7258," she opened her eyes, "Thank you Kazran!" she rushed to the little boy and hugged him, half-picking him up despite her size and spinning him around as he laughed.

~8~

Older Kazran blinked, stunned, recalling how he'd begun to think the girl really WAS psychic, before he smiled, putting a hand to his cheek...

~8~

Angel set Kazran down and grabbed his hands, "You are a brilliant boy Kazran," she told him, kissing his cheek as the Doctor ran to the keypad.

"7258," the Doctor beamed, punching in the number, the wheel unlocking with a click.

Kazran quickly turned it and the door opened. They ran in to see the room, a vault more like it, really was quite colder than Angel had first thought, with a thick fog along the ground, coming up to around their knees and thighs. Angel couldn't help but shiver a bit more and hug herself again.

"Are you cold?" the Doctor asked, having noticed her shiver and, recalling a few times she'd shivered in the past, when someone had been harmed elsewhere, he wanted to be sure.

"A bit," she shrugged.

And then a moment later she blinked, looking down at her shoulders to find the Doctor's coat around her arms. She stared at it a good minute, confused as to how it was there when she saw the Doctor follow Kazran into the vault, now without his coat. She blinked again because...that had been almost instantaneous. She'd said she was cold and the next thing she knew his coat was around her, as though he had automatically taken it off and given it to her, without a second thought, and that really was so him to do so...she was trying not to get her hopes up too high that there might be more to it than that, that he'd done it so quickly because he felt something for her when, in reality, it could just be him being his normal considerate self.

She shook her head and smiled, whatever the reason, it was a very sweet gesture and she was very grateful as she stuck her arms into his coat, still warm from him wearing it and followed after them.

Perhaps she ought to think of wearing a jacket, or at least bringing one with her should they end up in the cold again. The last thing she or the baby would need is her getting a cold.

"Ah, there's fish down here, too," the Doctor remarked, spotting a few little ones skittering by, laughing as the swarmed around Angel a moment as she caught up before swishing away through the maze of pods.

"Yeah, but only tiny ones," Kazran waved him off, "The house is built on a fog lake. That's how dad freezes the people," he stopped in front of a chamber, "They're all full, but we could borrow one," he pointed, "Yeah, this one."

The Doctor held up the lamp Kazran had given him to see the blonde woman from before inside, "Hello again," the Doctor greeted, Angel spotting her as well.

"You know her?" Kazran looked up.

"Why her?" the Doctor looked at him.

"Is she important?" Angel smiled knowingly.

"She won't mind," Kazran turned back to the box, trying to hide a faint blush, "She loves the fish," he tapped in a number on a keypad on the side of the pod and holographic video of the woman's face began to play in the small window.

"My name is Abigail Pettigrew," the video began, "And I'm very grateful for Mr. Sardick's kindness. My father..."

"She starts to talk about the fish in a minute."

Angel smiled, realizing that Kazran would only know that if he'd seen the video before, and to know what was coming next, he must have watched it a few times. Though probably when his father was moving a new person in as he hadn't had the code earlier. It was sweet, she could tell the boy was captivated by the woman, Abigail.

"…but I would not allow it. I could not have chosen this path were it not for the compassion and generosity of the great philanthropist and patron of the poor, Mr. Elliot Sardick, but I'm also surrounded by the fish, the beautiful, iridescent, magical fish..."

As Abigail spoke, the Doctor turned and walked down the row of containers, peering into some of them while Kazran and Angel stood by the video, though Angel was watching him go as Kazran watched the hologram, "Why are these people here?" he wondered.

"…they catch the light as they dart through the fog..." Abigail continued.

"What's all this for?" the Doctor frowned.

"My dad lends money," Kazran explained, not taking his eyes away from Abigail, "He always takes a family member as...he calls it security."

"Hard man to love, your dad," the Doctor looked back, "But I suppose you kn..."

He trailed off, swallowing hard, his gaze falling on Angel once more. She was standing there in his coat. He blinked, how had she gotten his coat? And then he frowned, realizing HE'D given it to her when he'd learned she was cold. Why hadn't he remembered that? No, no, he DID remember, yes, he'd asked her if she was cold, she'd said yes (near enough) and he'd wanted her to feel warm...so he'd given her his coat. Yes, right, of course he had. He didn't want her to be cold. He was fine, which, now that he thought of it...Angel _should_ be find too, being a Time Lady. But then again, he was in pants and shoes and socks and a shirt (and a coat), while Angel was in a slightly thin dress that was like a big t-shirt and boots...it was no wonder even she was cold. Kazran even had a thick dressing gown on.

But that wasn't what had made him pause, seeing her in his coat, ok, yes it WAS seeing her in his coat that had made him stop but it wasn't because he wasn't sure how she'd gotten it for a moment but...it was just...she looked...good. In his coat. The tweed coat fit her. It was...nice. And it had nothing to do at all with it being HIS coat around her. No, no it didn't. So what if she looked good in his coat? It wasn't like it was his clothes she was wearing. He winced, forcing an image of Angel wearing his shirt OUT of his mind. He would NOT disrespect Angel by thinking of her that way, no, that was wrong and...and...

"Doctor?" Angel called, "Are you alright?" she walked over to him, "You're turning red."

She really had no idea what was going on with him, all she heard in his head was 'no' repeatedly.

"I'm fine!" he nearly jumped back from her and into a pod behind him, "Fine."

"You're voice is squeaky again," she told him.

He cleared it, deepening it, "I'm fine."

She eyed him, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes," he nodded, "Fine, just fine, wonderful, I was just um..." he looked around again, trying to think of anything but how close Angel was...granted she was two feet away but still... "Kazran!" he shouted, making the boy jump as he pointed at the child, "Is the pod almost ready?" he quickly dashed back to Kazran's side, leaving Angel standing there all too confused and slowly following him...only to stop and look back through the fog worried, her expression catching the Doctor's eye as he was NOT looking back at her, no, he was...looking at the pods.

"…I am not alone, and I am at peace," Abigail finished as Kazran nodded.

The boy hit a few more buttons and the lights turned on in Abigail's container, warming her, in a soft light. He looked over at the Time Lords to see them standing there, "What's wrong?" he walked over to the Doctor and Angel as they looked around cautiously. He frowned, hearing a small beeping noise echo.

"Just my half a screwdriver trying to repair itself," the Doctor said, tense, "It's signaling the other half."

And then realization hit them.

"The other half's inside the shark…"

"Yeah. Sounds like she's woken up. Ok," he nodded, thinking fast, "So it's homing on the screwdriver..."

Angel grabbed the Doctor suddenly, pulling him to the side as the shark loomed out and snapped at the place he'd just been standing. Unfortunately the sudden move made the Doctor stumble and sent them both falling to the floor while Kazran bolted away, the shark going after him. The Doctor twisted mid-fall, landing on his back with an 'oomph,' Angel on top of him, which made him flush all the harder.

Though this time Angel didn't notice as she got up quickly, shouting, "Kazran!" before she ran off after him, the Doctor scrambling to his feet to follow.

~8~

"Run!" Older Kazran gasped, his eyes wide, his heart racing as though he were back in the vault, running himself.

~8~

Kazran ran through the maze of containers, stopping to hide behind a small pillar, hearing the shark beeping as it swam by...

When, a moment later, a woman started singing 'In the Bleak Midwinter.'

~8~

Older Kazran looked around his room, hearing the song in his mind, echoing as though in the room with him.

~8~

Kazran stood up shakily and walked back through the maze, following the song till he spotted Abigail's container open, the woman at the end of the aisle, kneeling on the ground, singing to the shark, stroking it, calming it. Behind him, Angel dashed out from between two containers, pulling the Doctor after her as she led him back. They looked over to see Kazran watching the woman and walked over, Angel relieved that the woman had managed to calm the shark as well, she hadn't gotten a chance to before. She was of the impression that animals, at least, were very aware of those around them and, if you meant them harm, they would react defensively. And men did tend to overreact, especially the Doctor, so it made sense that she and Abigail, by treating the shark with calm were able to keep it from attacking.

"It's not really the singing, of course," the Doctor mentioned after a few moments of listening to Abigail sing.

"Yes, it is," Kazran countered.

"Nah."

"The fish love the singing, it's true."

"It _is_ lovely," Angel agreed.

"I suppose," the Doctor shrugged, "But what really happens is that the notes resonate in the ice, causing a delta wave pattern in the fog…" he slapped his neck, "Ow!" and spun to Angel, pouting, "A fish bit me!" he told her, as though she'd be able to do something about it, which only made her laugh a bit and him grin at having made her laugh.

"Shut up, then!"

Abigail turned to them smiling as she sang.

"Of course!" the Doctor cheered, " _That's_ how the machine controls the cloud belt. The clouds are ice crystals. If you vibrate them at the right frequency, you could align them..." he slapped his neck once more, "Ow! Why do they keep biting me?"

"Because you deserve it?" Angel suggested, amused.

"Look, the fish like the singing, ok?" Kazran snapped, "Now shut up!"

The Doctor made a face, looking about to argue, but Angel just put her finger on her lips, motioning for him to keep silent. He sighed but nodded, mouthing 'Ok.'

Kazran turned to listen to the rest of the song, Angel stepping beside him and putting a hand on his shoulder. He smiled up at her and looked back, the Doctor watching on with a soft smile as he observed Angel, the alien in the dress and cowboy boots and tweed coat, just taking a moment to enjoy the singing that was lulling a killer flying shark to sleep.

Only on Christmas.

~8~

Older Kazran smiled at the memory and turned his head to see a near-full body portrait of Abigail on the wall where his father's used to be, looking at it fondly, with such...care...before he blinked and turned around, "It's bigger on..."

~8~

"...the inside," Kazran stared, him and Abigail standing at the edge of the TARDIS door, looking inside in awe.

"Yeah, it's the color," the Doctor nodded as he secured the shark in the icebox, Angel at the console, getting the TARDIS ready, "Really knocks the walls back," he tapped the container, "Shark in a box, to go."

~8~

Older Kazran smiled warmly, walking to the portrait, "Abigail," he reached out and put a gently hand on the edge of the frame around it, she was beautiful.

~8~

Abigail looked around the TARDIS in wonder as Angel and the Doctor worked on setting the box in motion, "This is...amazing!" she laughed.

"Nah, this is transport," the Doctor called.

"Oi!" Angel shouted as the TARDIS hummed in annoyance at what the Doctor had said, before turning to the rotor and reaching out to pat it, "Don't you listen to him girl, you're amazing!" she whispered, smiling as the light in the rotor brightened.

"We keep amazing..." the Doctor just continued, running to the doors and pulling them open, "Out here!" Kazran and Abigail gathered around the doors to see fish swimming among the clouds, sunlight streaming in through the white fluff.

Angel just leaned against the console, her arms crossed as she smiled at the sight beyond, not even noticing the Doctor looking at her, illuminated with the glow of the rotor behind her.

~8~

Older Kazran ran to one of the bookcases and pulled back a curtain on the lower shelf, pulling out a small chest.

~8~

The Doctor ran back to the ice-pod, "Come on, then, let's get this shark out," he punched the numbers to start the defrost as Angel glanced over at Abigail and Kazran, smiling lightly when she saw the boy pull out a camera and take a picture of Abigail as she looked out at the fish.

~8~

Older Kazran opened the chest, pulling out a handful of pictures, the first one of Abigail from just that moment.

~8~

"Hey, look at her go!" Kazran shouted with glee as the shark flew past them and into the sky.

"She missed her family," Angel remarked, pushing off the console to walk down and join them, "It's not much fun swimming alone."

The Doctor looked back at Angel when she stopped walking to see her frowning, staring down at something on the pod. He made his way over and looked down to see a series of numbers on the front of it, a mess of 0s with a final number of 8.

"Abigail," Angel called the woman over, "What does the '8' mean?"

"It pertains to me, ma'am, not the fish," Abigail mentioned quietly with a glance back at Kazran that made them frown at the concern in it, clearly she was speaking quietly so as not to be overheard.

"Yeah, but how?" the Doctor asked.

"You are a doctor, you say?" she turned back to him, "Are you one of mine?"

"You have more than one?" Abigail looked sad at that, knowing that, while SHE had the Doctor, she wasn't ill, and that humans tended to have a doctor for when they were sick...and to have more than one couldn't be good.

The Doctor opened his mouth to ask her more when a bell chimed at the console, "Ah! Sorry!" he ran back to it, Angel smiling fondly at how quickly he could be distracted before following after, "Time's up, kids!"

"Why?" Kazran asked, closing the doors.

"Because we need to get you back for Christmas Day!" Angel smiled at him.

~8~

Older Kazran looked up at the ceiling, his eyes teary.

~8~

Abigail stepped back into her container now back in the ice vault as Angel, the Doctor, and Kazran stood outside it, "If you should ever wish to visit again..." Abigail spoke.

"Well, you know, if we're ever in the neighborhood..." the Doctor trailed.

"They come every Christmas Eve!" Kazran interrupted, "Yeah, they do, every time. They promise!"

Angel laughed, "Why not?" she cheered, crossing her hearts.

"No, we don't..." the Doctor started but Kazran had already closed the door.

~8~

The door opened a mere second later for Abigail but a year outside the pod and the Doctor and Kazran were standing before her, wearing Father Christmas hats, while Angel had a small wreath of holly and ivy, holding another for Abigail as well, "Merry Christmas!" they grinned.

"Doctor!" Abigail laughed, "Angel!" she smiled, hugging the girl as the Time Lady put a wreath on her head with a laugh. The Doctor turned and led the way down the aisles of pods towards the door, carrying a harness slung over his shoulder, "What are we going to do?"

"The Doctor's got a great plan!" Kazran cheered, "Wait till you hear!"

"Come on," Angel linked her arm with the woman's as they ran off after the Doctor.

None of them saw the number on Abigail's container move from 8 to 7.

~8~

The Doctor stood before a two-wheeled, open carriage working on getting the harness hooked up to it, "You are out of your mind," Abigail cried, "This will _never_ work!"

"Lots of people have said that to him," Angel told the woman, "Surprisingly enough, he proves them wrong every time."

"Exactly!" the Doctor cheered, "Don't think shark, think dolphin," he lifted Kazran onto the seat as soon as he finished hooking up the harness.

"A shark isn't a dolphin!" Abigail argued.

"It's _nearly_ a dolphin."

"No, it isn't."

"That's where you're wrong, because...shut up," he held his half of the sonic up and turned it on.

"It could be anywhere," Kazran hopped down from the carriage, "Will it really come?"

"No chance. Completely impossible."

And it really was.

What was he thinking? The chances of this actually working were slim but...he had to try. He didn't know why but...the moment he'd seen flying fish, the second he'd seen that shark fly into Kazran's bedroom...his mind had gone right to this idea. And it hadn't left him. In fact...the longer he was there...it got worse.

It was like he NEEDED to do this, like this HAD to happen, it just HAD to. No ifs ands or buts about it, it was going to happen. But how? And...why was he so determined to do it? It was like...everything inside him was thrumming to accomplish this. His hearts were racing, his head was pounding, his chest was tightening with this...desperation...to see this come about. He'd never been so determined to do anything in his entire life than he was to call that shark down from the sky and harness it to the carriage.

And hadn't the faintest idea why.

But he had to grin though, despite his confusion as to why this was SO important to him to do, because he heard the small beeping of the shark.

"Except at Christmas apparently," Angel murmured, not quite sure how she should feel about this, about what the Doctor was trying to do. He'd promised her once, that he'd do this for her, for Christmas, but...now, to have him so driven to do it...but not know why, for she could see the confusion in his mind, feel it even, she wasn't sure she wanted it anymore.

Because the meaning and emotion behind it had been lost.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel sat in the front of the carriage, the Doctor at the reins as the flying shark flew them through the clouds, "How are we going to get back?" Kazran yelled.

"I don't know!" the Doctor replied.

"Do you have a plan?" Abigail called.

"I don't know!"

The humans laughed at that, but Angel just looked out, quiet, at the city below as the shark flew them over it, taking in the breathtaking sight.

The Doctor looked over, hearing Angel's silence, and frowned, seeing her expression was more a sad smile than a happy one. But why? This was brilliant!

He turned his attention back to the shark, wondering if she was just...afraid of heights or something because whatever it was was clearly bothering her. And that...upset him...to know that something about all this was making her unhappy, that HE had made her unhappy.

All he really wanted was for Angel to smile again, like she used to, like he remembered her smiling...

~oOo~

_Angel let out a little yawn, already falling asleep, something he couldn't fault her for given how little of it she'd had the past year, "I got a good long cuddle with my Mate, JUST what I wanted for Christmas," she cracked a tired eye open at him, "Are you sure YOU'RE not psychic?"_

_He laughed, "I'm nowhere NEAR as special as you," he told her, meaning it, "But I do promise, the next Christmas will be better."_

_She hummed lightly, "Take me for a shark-drawn carriage ride and we'll call it even."_

_He shook his head at her, smiling at how she must be half-asleep by now, a shark-drawn carriage ride? But still, if that was what she wanted for Christmas, he'd get it for her, no question, somehow, he would._

_This Christmas may have been a bust, but he was determined, one day, he'd give Angel a wonderful Christmas._

~oOo~

The Doctor looked over at Angel again, "Are you alright?" he asked her quietly, not wanting to disturb the cheer of Kazran and Abigail.

Angel jerked, turning to face him as though startled he'd spoken, "Fine."

"You don't seem fine."

Angel bit her lip, "I just..." she looked away a moment, "I'm worried about Rory and Amy."

The Doctor nodded, that explained it. He'd noticed, ever since the Pandorica events, that Angel was a bit more quiet, more solemn, less...her cheery old self. At least now he knew it was just a momentary thing though. Right now her companion WAS trapped in a ship about to crash into the ground along with his companion...

Which reminded him, they really had to get back to working on helping Kazran, so he tugged on the reins, guiding the shark back down to the ground.

~8~

Kazran, the Doctor, and Angel led Abigail back to her pod, "Best Christmas Eve ever!" she gushed.

"Till the next one!" Kazran smiled.

They closed the door and she was frozen once more.

~8~

Older Kazran sat on the floor of his sitting room, pictures spread out on the carpet before him, "New memories," he muttered, "How can I have new memories?"

He frowned, wondering what other new memories might come, whether they would be good...or bad. He glanced up at Abigail's portrait, hoping that the memories would be good ones.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww, did you like how much the Doctor wanted to do the shark-drawn carriage ride? :) He may not remember that he made that promise, but something in him does ^-^ I was debating ending this chapter JUST before the carriage ride but thought I'd take mercy on you :) And did you like that little moment with the coat? ;)


	49. A Christmas Carol: Christmas Eves

Kazran, Angel, and the Doctor opened Abigail's pod with a cry of "Merry Christmas!"

"Angel!" Abigail cheered, hugging the woman and smiling at the Doctor, "Hello Doctor! Where to this time?"

"Did I mention, at any point, all of time and space?" the Doctor laughed, leading them to the TARDIS that was stationed in the back of the vault.

Abigail laughed and squeezed Angel's hand, eager for the next adventure, which made Angel smile as well, pleased that she and Kazran were enjoying the trips. She wished she could enjoy them more, but...Rory and Amy were always in the back of her mind, much like with the Doctor she knew, and she was always worried that what they were doing might not be enough. She couldn't lose Rory again, she'd promised herself, nothing bad would happen to the man again, never.

~8~

The trio opened Abigail's pod, all wearing fezzes, "Merry Christmas!"

Abigail laughed and shook her head at the sight of them, even Angel had a fez on, and was holding one she knew was meant for her as well, "Doctor! Angel!"

~8~

The pod door swung open to reveal the trio there, now wearing stripped scarves which Abigail had to admit, seemed to suit their personalities. The Doctor's was an odd patchwork sort of scarf, made of stripes and polka dots, and zigzags and other designs that oddly enough, fit together quite well. Angel's was made of lighter colors, soft pinks and blues and purples, but stitched with a dark TARDIS blue colored string. Kazran's was very refined, made of browns and oranges and whites. She wouldn't know but Angel had found it and insisted Kazran wear the ridiculously long and rather familiar scarf.

Kazran had only nodded sullenly, much like how he was not standing, and hadn't spoken much. Which, of course, had made the Doctor ask him why and pester him till he broke his silence. He explained that his voice had started to crack and he was a bit embarrassed and felt terribly awkward. Angel had just told him that it was natural and that he sounded just fine, that it was nothing to be embarrassed about, even his father's voice had cracked like that in the man's lifetime! Which had cheered him up greatly, made him laugh actually to imagine his father with a high, squeaky, cracky voice.

But they understood and agreed to help him out throughout the night so he wouldn't have to talk much.

"Merry Christmas!" Angel and the Doctor shouted as Kazran offered her a wide smile instead.

"Hello!" she cheered, rushing out of the pod to take Angel's arm as she was accustomed to doing, following the men out of the vault.

The countdown turned to 4.

~8~

A teenage Kazran pulled open the door to Abigail's pod while Angel and the Doctor stood back a bit, just wanting to watch what they both knew was coming. The years had been good to Kazran, and he was rather a handsome young man at the moment. Which had made the Doctor pout and frown when Angel had laughed and hugged the boy, commenting on how grown up he looked, how handsome he'd become, and then kissed him on the cheek! On the cheek! Kissed him!

Angel had just eyed him oddly for his less than warm hello to Kazran, not at all sure why he was pouting or being all moody and broody, much like his old old self had been, Mr. Brooding she and Rose had called him. She was just saying hello to Kazran, actually saying hello and not Jack's version of saying hello. And she kissed Rory on the cheek at times too so there was nothing that should upset him, nothing she'd done any differently than with others. She didn't understand it.

"Merry Christmas!" they cheered, Angel pulled back to the present by the Doctor and Kazran's words.

Abigail's eyes widened as she took in the young man before her, "Kazran!"

Angel laughed lightly at that, seeing Abigail's stunned look, she knew that would happen.

~8~

The Doctor and Angel moved to the controls of the console as soon as they were in the TARDIS, Kazran and Abigail walking a little slower behind them, "You've grown," Abigail continued to stare, unable to take her eyes away from the...young man.

Angel glanced over at them, smiling knowingly before getting back to work. The Doctor watched her, not because he was watching her, no but because he was looking to see if she was putting in the controls correctly yes, and blinked, glancing between her and the 'couple' walking towards them, confused, before he shrugged and got back to helping get the TARDIS ready.

"Yeah," Kazran's cheeks turned pink at the compliment, much like they had when Angel had said the same. But in all fairness, he wasn't used to compliments from women, he couldn't remember ever getting praise from his father either for that matter.

"And now you're blushing," Abigail nudged him.

"Sorry."

"That's ok."

"So," Kazran cleared his throat and walked up to the console, "Where this time?"

"Pick a Christmas Eve," the Doctor grinned, holding his arms out wide to indicate the console, "We've got them all right here."

"Actually," Angel called gently, "I think we should let Abigail pick this one," she looked over at the woman.

Abigail beamed at them as they looked at her expectantly, realizing they were going to let her pick, "This one."

~8~

The small group of 'time travelers' walked through the streets of the town that night, Abigail with a hooded cloak on, Kazran with his black jacket and a black bowtie, but Angel still wearing the Doctor's jacket. She'd tried to give it back but he'd just said to keep it till it was warm again. She had thought he might want it back because she kept seeing him glancing at her, at it, and thought he was feeling cold too. But he'd smiled and laughed it off so there she was, still wearing his jacket and...smiling at it. It was warm like him and faintly smelled of him and, sometimes when they stopped for a moment she could close her eyes and almost imagine the Doctor was just...holding her.

She hadn't realized till she'd gone to Torchwood how much she missed things like that, just...little things, a hand hold, a hug. When Jack had taken her hand...she'd honestly been stunned that he had, and it had felt so nice. But it hadn't really hit her till just now though to realize...the Doctor rarely had taken her hand. She could, quite probably, count the amount of times he'd held or taken her hand on one hand. And that hurt, more than she wanted to admit. Because the last him had _always_ held her hand, had given her little kisses on the back of it, and even the him before that had held her hand too. She knew she had the Vortex in her but...him holding her hand always made her feel safe and warm and...loved.

They slowed though in their following Abigail when the woman stopped before the window of a small house, watching the family within, her family. Her sister was handing her husband a drink, "Thank you, darling," the man kissed her which made her smile sadly.

Kazran, Angel, and the Doctor stood back a ways, observing her, all of them sensing this was a moment for her, "Who are they?" Kazran frowned.

"Her family," Angel replied softly, "That woman is her sister."

"We met her once," the Doctor added after a moment, though he sounded a bit...annoyed, "When she was...older."

Kazran nodded and looked back at Abigail, his eyes widening, "Abigail's crying," he noticed.

"Yes."

Kazran looked at Angel and the Doctor, "When girls are crying, are you supposed to talk to them?"

The Doctor shrugged, "How am I supposed to know?"

Angel just gave the Doctor a curious look before nudging Kazran over to Abigail and turning to the Doctor herself, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he turned, walking off a few feet to give Kazran and Abigail privacy.

"Are you really trying to lie to a psychic?" she asked.

"No."

"Then what's wrong?" she shook her head, "You're in a snarky mood too."

"I'm not snarky."

She nodded, "Well you're very much brooding."

He stopped and turned around to face her, "Brooding?"

Something about that word...

~oOo~

_"New New Doctor," he laughed._

_"I have to say," Angel opened her eyes to look at him, "I rather like this New New Doctor."_

_He beamed down at her, reaching out to stroke her cheek a moment before putting a strand of hair that had escaped her clip in the wind behind her ear, "Me too," and then placed a gentle kiss on her forehead._

_"Though I must admit, I do miss Mr. Brooding."_

_"Mr. Brooding?" he asked, incredulous, as Rose let out a giggle, quickly trying to cover it up as he looked between the two of them, "Is that what you two called me behind my back?"_

_"Oh no," Rose remarked._

_"Not ever," Angel added._

_They were serious for a moment, before laughing once more._

_"Oh yeah, well, would 'Mr. Brooding' do this?" he replied, before reaching out and tickling the two of them._

~oOo~

"Yes," Angel nodded, pulling him from his thoughts, "I travelled with your 9th self Doctor, I know when you're brooding," she reached out to put a hand on his arm, not trusting herself to take his hand and be able to let go later, "What's wrong?"

He sighed and looked at Kazran, realizing he was being childish. The boy was clearly taken with Abigail and he had no right to be cross if Angel kissed him on the cheek. It wasn't like Angel was going to stay there with Kazran, no, the TARDIS was her home. And there was more a chance of her going to stay with Jack than there...which made him wince at the thought of her leaving.

"It's nothing," he told her, "I'm fine, I promise," he crossed his hearts.

Angel eyed him a moment, seeing that, in his mind, _he_ didn't even know why he was being broody, "If you're sure..."

He nodded, glancing back at Kazran and Abigail, "And I've just had a brilliant idea!" he cheered, turning to run around the house, Angel rushing after him, leaving Abigail and Kazran to their conversation.

"My sister's family," Abigail breathed as Kazran came to stand beside her, "They're so happy."

"They look very poor," Kazran remarked.

"They _are_ very poor. Doesn't mean you can't be happy."

"And then why aren't _you_?"

Abigail flinched as her brother-in-law closed the curtains, blocking the family from view, not even seeming to notice it was HER standing there, well, why would he? He'd never met her before, she'd been frozen, "Because this is the life I can never have."

"Why not?"

Abigail just took his hand in hers, "I think you're blushing again."

The curtain suddenly was thrust open, the Doctor there, waving at them with Angel in the background, standing by Abigail's sister, "Come in!" he called.

Abigail smiled widely and headed inside.

~8~

The Doctor sat entertaining a little boy who Angel recognized as the father of the two children they had seen in the future. He was trying a card trick with the boy while Abigail sat with her sister, Kazran helping the father decorate, "Pick a card, any card at all," the Doctor held out a fan of cards while Angel sat watching from the window behind the Doctor, though her gaze flickered from the Doctor to the view outside, it was a lovely night.

"Every Christmas Eve?" Abigail's sister whispered to her, though Angel could still hear it, "I don't understand."

"I'm not sure I do," Abigail smiled.

"Memorize the card, put it back in the deck," the Doctor instructed, "Don't let me see it."

"Is this what it looked like last year?" the father called, looking at the stockings he was trying to hang up along the fireplace.

"It doesn't have to be exactly the same," his wife called back.

"I'm starting again. Come on, Kazran, we're starting again."

"That's Sardick's boy, isn't it?" she turned back to Abigail.

"He's not like his father," Abigail insisted.

"His father treats everyone like cattle. One day, that boy will do the same."

"No. He's different."

"The three of clubs!" the Doctor held out the card at the boy, Angel smiled, shaking her head. She didn't need any of her abilities to know that was the wrong card, he was rubbish at card tricks.

"No," the boy replied.

"You sure? I'm very good at card tricks."

"Rule 1," she remarked as she made her way over to sit beside the boy, the Doctor's coat still on despite being inside, "He lies ALL the time," she gave the boy a wink.

The boy laughed and looked at the Doctor, "It wasn't the three of clubs."

"Well, of course it wasn't," he threw away the card, "Because it was the seven of diamonds!" he pulled it from inside his pocket.

The boy looked up at Angel as she asked, "No?"

"No," the boy agreed, that wasn't his card either.

"Oi, stop it, you're doing it wrong," the Doctor grumbled though he smiled seeing Angel beside the boy. He really appreciated that about her, she was so good with children, cared for them as much as he did. That was something special to be found in someone.

"I see him around the town sometimes," Abigail's sister started to whisper again, pulling Angel's attention away, "Never any friends."

"He's got me," Abigail said.

"All those Christmas Eves, you never once came to see us. "

"I'm here now."

"Then stay. Stay for tomorrow, have Christmas dinner with us."

"I can't."

"Well, then," she stood, getting everyone to look at her as well, "Tomorrow's dinner is cancelled, as my sister refuses to attend."

"Isabella..." Abigail shouted, alarmed that her sister would do such a thing, Christmases were the holiday their family always looked forward to.

"Instead..." Isabella reached out and took Abigail's hand, "We'll have it tonight."

"Do you need any help with the food?" Angel asked, standing, "I'm a better cook than I was, I could help."

"Bless you dear," Isabella smiled, nodding her and Abigail over to the small kitchen area.

~8~

They were all sitting around a table, the Doctor at one end with the father at the other, Abigail and Kazran on one side while Angel, Isabella, and the boy sat on the other, all of them about to pull party crackers, "Three!" the Doctor counted down, "Two! One! Pull!"

Angel grinned widely, thinking about Rose and the time the Doctor regenerated and how they'd done the same thing. The only thing different really was that instead of finding a pink hat in the cracker, the little boy pulled an 8 of hearts from his, "How did you do that?" he turned to the Doctor, unfolding his card to see it.

"Your card, I believe," he grinned smugly.

"No!"

"Oh, shut up!" the Doctor pouted.

"It was the ace of spades," Angel leaned over to tell him.

"How did you know?!" the little boy's eyes widened with surprise.

"Psychic," the Doctor muttered, looking over at her.

"Thief," Angel countered.

But the Doctor frowned, seeing her clutching something in her hand, "Did you win?" he asked, nodding at it.

She looked down, "Yeah," and unfolded the little bit of paper to reveal it was a dark blue 'crown.'

"So what's wrong then?" he asked her, starting to frown at how she was looking at the hat sadly. He'd thought that might bring a smile to her face, a real happy smile and not a sad one but...it seemed he hadn't mustered it again. He didn't know why that was bothering him so much, that she wasn't quite enjoying this trip or that the little things he was trying weren't working. Even when he'd given her his coat she'd seemed more shocked than happy at first, "And don't you try lying either," he pointed a warning finger at her.

She did smile at that a bit, "I just..." she held up the crown, "It reminds me of our first Christmas with Rose."

He nodded, recalling that, the pink hat Rose had gotten out of it, "Well that's ridiculous," he told her, taking the hat, "This is blue," he smiled, putting the hat on her head for her, "Rose's was pink," he paused, his hands still near her head as he took a moment to look at her, "You look better in blue than pink," he murmured softly, a single hand reaching out to brush a lock of hair behind her ear as she blinked at him, him just...staring...

"Er, Merry Christmas!" Kazran toasted suddenly, feeling very awkward to be surrounded not just by people but poor people, HAPPY people.

The Doctor nearly jolted away from Angel at the sudden shout, looking around before quickly lifting his glass to join in the "Merry Christmas!" everyone gave.

Abigail took Kazran's hand under the table, a concerned look on her face as she eyed the Doctor and Angel...she'd noticed their little moment earlier and now...there was a flash of terrible sadness in Angel's eyes, though it was gone...no, hidden...as she turned to join the toast as well.

~8~

"Best Christmas Eve ever!" Abigail hugged the Doctor as they stood back in the ice vault.

"Ah!" he hugged her back, "Till the next one."

"I look forward to it," Abigail moved to hug Angel too, "Now I'd like to say goodnight to Kazran."

"Of course," the Doctor nodded, but just kept standing there, "Well, on you go," he added when they just said nothing. They looked at him, and he looked back for a moment, before it hit him, "Oh! Oh, yes, right! Sorry, I'll, um, _we'll_ go, then," he looked at Abigail, "Good night," and then Kazran, "Good luck...night! Good _night_!" he backed away into a pod, quickly turning to stop if falling over, "Sorry," and walked away.

Angel just shook her head at him, "Sweet dreams," she added to Abigail before walking after the Doctor.

"Doctor!" Kazran shouted, rushing over. Angel laughed stepping back, knowing what the boy was going to talk to the Doctor about, the man-to-man conversation he'd want to have. She looked at Abigail who was subtly ushering her over.

"Angel," Abigail began softly, reaching out to take the girl's hand, squeezing it lightly as she held it, "Are you alright?"

"Of course," she smiled, "I'm fine."

Abigail shook her head slowly, she could see it even better up close, the sort of smile she was giving, the sad smile, the one where you tried to keep it to yourself so as not to worry someone else, well that wouldn't work on her. The Time Lady had been so kind to her, so warm and welcoming and considerate, having given her the choice of this last Christmas Eve, she just wanted to return the favor, "You're sad."

"No, I'm not," Angel continued to insist, though her gaze turned away from Abigail, a clear sign she was lying. She glanced at Abigail again to see her clearly unbelieving stare and sighed, that was why she didn't lie, she was terrible at it. And she didn't like it.

"I saw the way you looked at the Doctor," she told Angel quietly, "Does he know?"

Angel looked at her a moment before nodding, deciding it couldn't hurt, they only saw Abigail once a year, and...the woman was being so understanding, she _was_ so understanding that she couldn't help but want to get it off her chest, at least a bit, "Yes, he does…or, he did…he's forgotten," she blinked, feeling tears in her eyes but she held them back, she was NOT going to cry anymore, she had to be stronger than this, "And I can't even tell him. Memory loss is a delicate matter, but…he doesn't even know he's forgotten, not really."

It was her greatest fear, to tell him of the baby, or even of the Mating, and have him completely disagree with her, to deny everything. It was one thing to hear it waved off as a passing remark, it was another to say it, out loud, and then have him completely, flat-out deny it to her face. That would break her hearts. She didn't think the Doctor would be that cruel, to hurt her like that, but then again...she hadn't ever thought he would be the cause of her hurt.

And right now...he was.

Abigail nodded, squeezing her hand again, reading between the lines that it was more than just feelings that had been forgotten, "I'm sorry."

"Me too," she swallowed but then noticed Kazran heading over, "Good luck with Kazran."

~8~

"I, er, I think she's going to kiss me," Kazran muttered to the Doctor the moment Angel was far enough away to not hear him, the girl going to speak with Abigail.

"Yeah, I think you're right," he pushed him towards Abigail.

"I've never kissed anyone before," Kazran ran back to him, "What do I do?"

The Doctor put an arm around Kazran's shoulder, "Well...try and be all nervous and rubbish and a bit shaky."

"Why?"

"You'll be like that anyway. Make it part of the plan."

"Is that what you did when you kissed someone?" Kazran asked.

"Who said I kissed someone?" the Doctor glanced at him, stiffening.

"Well then how would you know?" Kazran shook his head, "... _have_ you kissed someone?"

"Well, yeah," the Doctor scratched the side of his face, "Sure, yes, loads of people."

Kazran eyed him, seeing him frowning, "You don't look like it was good..."

~oOo~

_And then, very suddenly, 'Rose' pulled his face towards her and planted a large kiss right on his lips._

_Angel's eyes widened in shock at the sudden and very uncharacteristic move._

_When 'Rose' finally pulled away he looked very shocked and she was slightly breathless, "T-terminal's this way," she breathed, walking off._

_He blinked, before rounding to face Angel, who had turned to look at 'Rose,' frowning. His hearts were beating in his chest at the thought of what Angel might be feeling about that kiss. He'd just asked her to agree to be his Mate and then kissed another woman in front of her! Mind you, she had kissed him, but still…if this destroyed the chance he had with Angel…he honestly didn't know what he would do._

_He...he'd never felt this way about any woman before, just the thought that he might lose Angel because of this...it terrified him..._

~oOo~

"No," he murmured, "I don't suppose it was good..." he shook his head, recalling how...wrong...it had felt to kiss Rose or Martha or Amy...just wrong, SO wrong, and looked at Kazran, "But that'll be different for you," he cheered, pushing Kazran off once more, "Off you go, then!"

But Kazran resisted, "What, now? I kiss her now?"

"Kazran, it's this or go to your room and design a new kind of screwdriver. Don't make my mistakes. Now, go!"

Kazran sighed and turned back to Abigail just as she squeezed Angel's hand and the other woman turned to walk past him, patting his shoulder as she went. He stood before Abigail awkwardly...till the woman reached out and pulled him into a kiss.

~8~

Older Kazran smiled at the photos, looking at all their trips, all the places that the Doctor and Angel had taken him and Abigail to on those Christmas Eves. New York, Paris, Australia, and then he came across one of California 1952 and his smile faded...

~8~

Abigail was standing by the pool of a Hollywood mansion, dressed in a period white gown, unhappy despite the cheerful music and famous people wandering around. She just stared at the water with a sorrowful look on her face, which was how Kazran found her, "Abigail! Are you coming back? The Doctor is going to do a duet with Frank and Angel's holding him to it or else he has to eat this odd concoction of pickles and mayonnaise she's been nibbling on and…" he trailed off, seeing the tears in Abigail's eyes, "Abigail? What's wrong?" he took her hands in his.

"I have something to tell you," she whispered, her voice breaking.

"A bad thing?"

"A very bad thing."

He swallowed, squeezing her hands as he prepared himself, "What is it?"

"The truth."

~8~

The Doctor popped his head around a bush near the pool, wearing a white evening jacket with his tie undone, looking around frantically as though to avoid someone, only to end up spotting Abigail and Kazran kissing by the pool, "Guys, we've really got to go quite quickly!" he dashed past the hedges and towards them, "I just accidentally got engaged to Marilyn Monroe…" he looked over at them, revealing a lipstick smudge on his cheek and walked over, "How do you keep _going_ like that? Do you breathe out your ears? Hello?" he knocked Kazran on the head lightly, "Sorry, hello?" and then Abigail, but they continued, "Guys, she's phoned a _chapel_ , there's a _car_ outside, this is happening _now_! I need to get out of here! I CAN'T marry _her_!"

"Yoo-hoo!" Marilyn called from across the pool.

"Yoo-hoo!" he called back before turning around, his eyes wide in horror, in absolute terror, "Guys?!"

"Doctor?" Angel appeared, walking past the hedge he'd just come from, dressed in a beautiful white halter dress that flowed to the floor with a TARDIS blue sash falling from her shoulder to her hip and matching gloves on.

"Angel!" he shouted, his hearts racing at the sight of her, SO thankful she'd turned up. He needed all the luck he could get at escaping the irate blonde that would be Marilyn Monroe. He ran right for her, "Thank God! We need to get to the TARDIS quick!"

She was the _only_ one he trusted to get him out of this without running into Marilyn.

But Angel just frowned, confused, "Doctor what's hap…"

"No time, just go!" he grabbed her arm and pulled her past the hedge, "Run!"

Just then, Kazran and Abigail broke apart, "What are we going to do?" he breathed, both of them with tears in their eyes now.

"There is nothing to be done," she frowned.

~8~

Kazran escorted Abigail into her pod as the Doctor tested his half of the sonic on a small fish, Angel though was watching Kazran closely with a small frown, she could just tell something bad had happened while she had lost the Doctor and then helped him get back to the TARDIS, "Good night, Abigail," Kazran breathed.

"Good night, Kazran," she returned, her voice breaking with tears which made Angel frown even more to hear.

They slowly let go of each other's hands and backed away, Kazran closing the door as Abigail shook her head.

The Doctor walked over, cheerful and completely oblivious to the solemn look on Kazran's face, "There we go. Another day, another Christmas Eve. We'll see you in a minute, eh? I mean, a year."

"Doctor..." Kazran cut in, "Listen, why don't we leave it?"

"Sorry, leave what?"

"Oh, you know. This. Every Christmas Eve, it's getting a bit old."

"Old?"

"Well, Christmas is for kids, isn't it? I've got some work with my dad now, I'm going to focus on that. Get that cloud belt under control."

"Sorry," the Doctor frowned, "I didn't realize we were boring you."

"Not your fault. Times change," he walked away.

"Not as much as I'd hoped," the Doctor sighed before running after him, Angel just walking to stand before Abigail's pod, eyeing the woman though her gaze kept getting pulled to the number '1' on the door, "Kazran!" the boy stopped and turned around, "I'll be needing a new one, anyway. What the hell..." he gave him half the sonic, "Merry Christmas. And if you ever need me, just activate it. I'll hear you."

"I won't need you," Kazran muttered with a bit of a bite to his words.

"Kazran…" Angel began soflty, turning to look at him as he looked up at her, "What's wrong? Something happened..."

Kazran just shook his head and turned, walking off, "What about Abigail?" the Doctor called.

"I know where to find her," he shouted back over his shoulder, not stopping till he'd stormed out of the room, shutting and locking the door to the vault behind him, his eyes red from tears.

~8~

Older Kazran turned around to see Abigail's portrait had been replaced by his father's once more.

~8~

Kazran, now slightly older, in his early twenties, stood before his father, dressed in somber black as had become his custom, his hair slicked back as they drank champagne, standing in front of the isomorphic machine, "Another Christmas Eve, Kazran," his father grinned, "But a very special one. It's complete. Look at it. Sound waves. As simple as that. We can control the clouds, the fog, the fish..."

"Why do we want to control the fish?" he couldn't help but ask.

"People are _cattle_. If you want to control cattle, you need to control their predators," he eyed the frown on his son's face, "What's the face for? Look what I'm giving you. The sky, and everything beneath it. Only you and I can control this. This planet is ours!"

"Excuse me, Father," Kazran swallowed, setting down his glass and walking out of the room, heading for his bedroom. He paused a moment in his doorway before going straight to his desk and opening a drawer and, inside, was the sonic. He took it out and stared at it a moment before feeling the hairs on the back of his neck rise.

He turned to see the Doctor standing in the window, Angel a few feet behind him. He stormed over, the Doctor leaning down with a smile on his face. He glanced over at Angel, who was watching him sadly, knowingly, before he closed the curtains and walked back to the desk, dropping the sonic into the drawer and slamming it shut, swearing to himself he would never open that drawer again.

~8~

Older Kazran opened the dusty drawer and pulled out the sonic, pressing it against his cheek in memory...when the phone rang, startling him.

"Yes, what?" he answered with a snap, slipping the sonic into his dressing gown pocket, "Oh, Mr. President, we've been through this! It's not going to crash on my house, so what's it got to do with me?" he rolled his eyes, "Yes, I know. 4,003. As two very old friends of mine once took a very long time to explain...life isn't fair."

He hung up and looked at the pictures scattered at his feet, all of them featuring a smiling Abigail. He pulled the sonic from his pocket just as a green hologram of Amy appeared before him, "Hello!" she called.

"Who are you?" he demanded, jumping back from her, "What are you doing here?"

"Didn't think this was over, did you?" she smirked, putting her hands on her hips, "I'm the Ghost of Christmas Present."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww the Doctor doesn't like kissing other people! :) ...I wonder if the River event will happen in DOTM...hmmm... }:) But yay! Angel told someone else about what happened, sort of. And Abigail's only got one day left, but still...Abigail reminds me a bit of Angel so I could see her noticing and being concerned :)
> 
> Did you like the little moment with the 'crown' though? Or the Doctor being irritated with the 'older' teenage Kazran? ;)


	50. A Christmas Carol: Christmas Day

"A ghost?" Kazran eyed her, "Dressed like that?"

Rory appeared, pushing Amy aside and out of view, "Eyes off the skirt!" he pointed a warning finger at Kazran, trying to seem threatening...though that affect was lost rather quickly when he himself was shoved out of frame by Amy.

"You turned into a Roman…" Kazran muttered, not quite sure if it was a different person who had spoken or if the woman had somehow just transformed into a Roman soldier. Given everything that had happened to him tonight...well, all those Christmas Eves ago...it was very possible she was just able to turn into a Roman. Why not? Travelling with the Doctor and Angel had shown him things were...strange.

"Yeah," she chuckled, "I do that. I also do this," and then she disappeared.

"Do what?" he frowned, wondering what she was going to do that was so special, she was a hologram, of course she could disappear, "What are you talking about?"

He fell silent a moment later, hearing people singing 'Silent Night' from somewhere in his house. He glared, people were in his house! That would not do. But thanks to the Doctor all his servants were elsewhere so it was up to him to get the riffraff out of his home. He turned and stormed out of the room, following the noise till he reached the ice vault. He paused at the doorway, not wanting to enter. He hadn't entered that room since the night he'd locked Abigail away, no, he'd always had his servants move the people to and from it, never setting foot in there again. It was...it hurt too much and he didn't want that, he just wanted others to hurt as much as he had. But when he looked inside, seeing a number of people standing there, singing, all green holograms, he shook his head, this wouldn't do. He keyed the code in and opened the door, entering and looking at them, when Amy appeared behind him.

"They're holograms," she spoke, making him spin around to face her, startled, "Projections, like me."

"Who are they?" he glanced back at them, spotting women and men and children and older people as well. So many varying ages of annoyance.

"The people on the ship up there. The ones you're going to let die tonight."

"Why are they singing?" he shook his head, not understanding the point. If they were on a crashing ship, shouldn't they be screaming or something? It was less amusing to watch people singing instead of panicking. He...frowned at that. A part of him felt like he'd enjoy it if they were panicking, and he knew that was a left over remnant of the man he had been before the Doctor and Angel got involved, but...another part of him felt like, if they HAD been panicking, that he would be more likely to actually...help...which the new him still was uneasy with doing.

No one was there to help Abigail, why should he help others? Not even the Doctor, with all his medicine, or Angel, with all her angelic qualities, could help her. He very much doubted they would be able to even if he told them about Abigail, the woman only had 1 day left after all.

"For their lives," Amy eyed him, seeing his gaze flickering to the side and knew his attention was being pulled to Abigail, "Which one's Abigail?" he looked at her quickly, "Angel and the Doctor told me."

"Did they now?" he glared.

"They don't hold back," she shrugged, "You know them."

"How do I? I never met them before tonight. Now I seem to have known them all my life. How? Why?"

"You're the only person who can let that ship land. They were trying to turn you into a nicer person. And they were trying to do it nicely," she sighed, "I bet that was Angel though. The Doctor..."

She'd seen him in action. She'd seen him give people one chance and once chance only to do the right thing before he did it himself or forced their hand. She'd seen him give Prisoner Zero the chance to turn himself in before bringing the Atraxi down on him himself, she'd seen him give Liz 10 the chance to figure things out before readying himself to 'kill' the Star Whale, she'd seen him give the angels a chance to free her before he let them all fall into a crack in time, and she'd seen him offer the Signora a chance to stop the storm before doing it himself and leading to her end among many other adventures. She'd seen this...darkness in him...but over time, over their travels, she'd seen him get better, she'd seen him offer the Silurians a chance for peace even after they'd taken Angel, she'd seen him changing, becoming...more understanding, nicer...and she was sure it was Angel. The girl had a way of calming a situation, of trying to make things easier, and...she was kind herself. It was like that kindness was rubbing off on the Doctor.

If it had been the Doctor she'd met as a little girl, she was sure that he would have just used his 'tall dark hero' act and somehow force this Kazran to operate the machines. She didn't know how, bankrupt him, rig up a bomb, rally the town to a mob, maybe even set a shark on the man...but this Doctor, he was trying to be kind, he was trying to show mercy and take pity and understand why Kazran was the way he was.

She knew the Doctor wasn't a bad man, not at all, but she did see a hint of darkness in him, a darkness that always came out whenever someone he cared about was in danger, more so when Angel was in danger really, but she knew he cared for HER as well. And Rory was there with her so she knew Angel was worried too. But...she couldn't help but feel like Angel was doing good for him, making the Doctor calmer, making him more hopeful, making him...lighter. The more he was around Angel the more she saw a change in him, a...light that just held back the darkness, made it smaller. Whenever Angel was there it came out, like it had when she'd gone to Torchwood. Only a few days had gone by and the Doctor had been a wreck and snapping at people and flying off the handle and threatening the TARDIS...but bring Angel back and he was all smiles and laughing and...nice...again.

"They've changed my past!" Kazran snapped, pulling Amy out of her thoughts, "My whole life!"

"Time can be rewritten."

"You tell the Doctor and Angel, tell them from me, _people can't_ ," he strode forward, breaking up the holograms as he went before stopping in front of Abigail's pod.

"That's Abigail?" Amy guessed, watching him.

"I would never have known her if the Doctor and Angel hadn't changed the course of my whole life to suit themselves."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?"

"No."

Angel eyed the pod, waiting for him to open it, but he didn't, "Why is she still in there? You could let her out any time. "

"Oh, yes. Any time at all. Any time...I choose," he reached out to touch the window.

"Then why don't you?"

"This is what the Doctor and Angel did to me," he muttered, "Abigail was ill when she went into the ice. On the point of death. I suppose the rest in the ice helped her, but she's used up her time. All those Christmas Eves with me. I could release her any time I want...and she would live a single day," his hand dropped to the '1' on the door before he turned to Amy, "So tell me, Ghost of Christmas Present, how do I choose which day?"

"I'm sorry," she began, completely shocked by the state Abigail was in, the Doctor and Angel hadn't mentioned that when they told her about Kazran, hoping she might be able to use the knowledge to get through to him, which made her fear that they didn't know either, "I really am. I'm very, very sorry. But you know what? She's got more time left than I have. More than anyone on this ship."

"Good."

Amy frowned, "Rory, widen the beam."

The room flickered out of existence and Kazran found himself standing on the flight deck of the crashing ship, Amy and Rory to the side, by a small control panel on the wall, with the captain and her pilots before him, "Update on engine one..." the captain shouted.

"How did I get here?" he gasped, his eyes wide, actually starting to feel afraid that he was on the ship too now, that he would die, that he was being punished by being forced to die like the rest of the commoners.

"You didn't," Amy told him, "It's _your_ turn to be the hologram. Since you're going to let a lot of people die, I thought you might like to see where it's all gonna happen."

"The singing..." he breathed, hearing the faint songs still being sung from somewhere in the ship, "What is it? I don't understand."

"The Doctor's idea," Rory explained, "The harmonies resonate in the ice crystals. The fish like it. He thought maybe it would stabilize the ship. But it isn't working. It's not powerful enough."

"Why are they still singing, then?"

"Because we haven't told them," the captain spun to face him, concern and fear for the passengers etched on her face, "I understand you have a machine that controls this cloud layer. If you can release us from it, we still have time to make a landing. Nobody has to die."

"Everybody has to die," he sneered.

"Not tonight," Amy remarked, crossing her arms, eyeing the man.

She didn't see it. Angel had been sure, said that he would change, that he would be a better man than he was, that he'd save them. Rory believed her 100 percent, he always did. And she usually did, but like Rory had said earlier, they were cutting it fine. She couldn't see this working, the man before her didn't seem even the least bit concerned for any of the people on this ship. The Doctor was worried, she knew, he was worried that their plan would fail and that the ship would crash and he'd be unable to help them. But Angel was hopeful, Angel really believed Kazran could come through for them.

She could only hope the psychic was right, that she'd 'seen' it happen or something and that it wasn't just her wishing that it would all be ok.

"Tonight's as good as any other. How do you choose?"

Amy closed her eyes for a moment, calling out, "Doctor? Angel?"

"Yeah?" the Doctor spoke over a speaker, making Kazran jerk his head up as though he could see them through it.

"Are you hearing this?"

"We hear it," Angel said sadly.

Kazran frowned, something inside him pinging at the sound of Angel being sad, at knowing HE was the one making her sad. But he pushed it aside, it was just a left over remnant of his new memories of her as a child, of the kind woman who had hugged him and brushed away his tears and protected him and praised him...no, she didn't matter to him at all. Not really. No.

"They're here?" he looked around instead, "Where are they? Doctor? Angel!" Rory turned off the hologram and Kazran appeared back in the vault to see the Doctor leaning against a container, Angel beside him, the Time Lady eyeing him with such a disappointed look that he had to turn his gaze away, "Doctor!" he gasped, "Angel!"

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said, "We didn't realize."

"I didn't see it," Angel added, glancing at Abigail's container.

She hadn't sensed anything was the matter with her, and now, knowing that Abigail was ill...she was afraid she wouldn't be able to help regardless. She hadn't tried to heal an illness before, something affecting every part of a person's body. As soon as they'd heard about the illness, the Doctor had used the TARDIS to look up Abigail's medical records and found it was a terminal disease, one of the evolved forms of an Earth disease that had mutated throughout the centuries. They doubted even the Sisters of the hospital in New New York would have been able to find a cure for Abigail. She wanted to try, she very much wanted to, but looking at how complex the disease was, how far it had progressed...Abigail was just too ill, she was too near her end, she literally had only hours left she was so gravely ill and she knew...

She couldn't save the girl.

And that hurt, she hated death, she hated it so much, hated that it had to be a natural part of life. But she'd seen it in Miracle Day, what could happen if people were unable to die. It had put things in perspective in a way, but she still didn't like it. She still wanted to try and save as many people as she could but...Abigail...she knew, she could _feel_ it, the only way she'd be able to save Abigail from the disease was to let the Vortex take full control of her, like with Jack, she'd literally brought him back from the dead, but she'd had no control over it. Physical injuries she could heal, she was sure, but illness...it was more complex than an injury, it wasn't just one area that was being affected it was everything. It was Abigail's lungs and heart and organs and blood, it was everything...just like when SHE had been dying as well.

It was an illness, it was a disease, and she knew she wasn't strong enough to save her from that.

And she hated it.

So all she could do was try to help, try to give Abigail the best day ever...like the Doctor had tried to do for her.

"All my life, I've been called heartless," Kazran spoke quietly, staring at Abigail's pod, "My other life, my real life, the one you rewrote. Now look at me."

"It's better to have a broken heart, Kazran, than to not have a heart at all," Angel whispered.

"Oh, try it," he sneered at her, "You try it."

"I have," Angel replied without even blinking.

She was doing it right now.

Kazran eyed her a moment, seeing the horrible pain in her eyes before swallowing hard and looking away, unable to bear it, her pain...no matter what, he could see it, her pain was worse than his, the pain in her eyes was more intense than the one he saw in his own when he looked in the mirror, "Why are you here?" he sighed.

"'Cos we're not finished with you yet," the Doctor said.

Angel turned away from the pod and walked forward, "You saw your past change, the present along with it, you saw what's happening right now in that ship. There's really only one thing left to see isn't there? The future," she paused and looked back at the Doctor, a small, ironic smile on her face, "Fitting isn't it? _I'm_ the Ghost of Christmas Yet-To-Come?"

"Fine!" Kazran glared, drawing her attention back, "Do it! Show me! I'll die cold, alone and afraid. Of course I will, we all do! What difference does showing me make? Do you know why I'm going to let those people die? It's not a plan. I don't get anything from it. It's just that I don't care. I'm not like you. I don't even want to be like you! I don't and never, ever will care!"

"And I know YOU Kazran," Angel told him gently, "So I find it hard to believe that."

"Then show me the future. Prove me wrong."

"I _am_. Right now actually. What do you think of this?" she stared at something past his shoulder and Kazran turned around to see his younger self there, behind him, in pajamas and a dressing gown, "Do you want to become him, Kazran?"

The two Kazrans slowly walked towards each other, staring, "Dad?" Young Kazran breathed.

Kazran dropped his cane and lifted his hand, ready to hit the boy...

But his mind flashed back to when his father had struck him and when he'd almost struck the boy who was Abigail's great-nephew and dropped his hand, starting to cry, "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry…" he reached out for his younger self who took a step back in fear, "It's ok, don't be frightened," he put his hand on Young Kazran's shoulder and pulled him into a hug, "I'm...I'm so, so, so..."

"Kazran," Angel called, stepping up and putting a hand on his shoulder, "We need to hurry."

~8~

"Structural integrity at 30 percent!" the second pilot yelled.

"We have five minutes max," the captain reported, "We need to land!"

There was static and then the Doctor appeared on screen, "Hello, hello! Ah, hello, everyone. Prepare to lock on to my signal."

"Doctor, what's happening?" Amy gasped.

"We just saved Christmas. Don't go away!" and then the camera switched off.

"Doctor? Doctor!"

~8~

Kazran stood at the controls of the machine as the Doctor walked up, Young Kazran at Angel's side as she had her arm around the boy's shoulders, trying to keep him calm as the boy fidgeted, not quite sure what was going on but knowing that a lot of lives were at stake, "We good to go, then?" the Doctor grinned.

"The controls won't respond." Kazran remarked.

"They're isomorphic, tuned to _your_ brainwaves, they'll only respond to you."

"They won't."

"That doesn't make sense, why wouldn't..." he tried the controls himself, when a thought struck him, "Oh! Oh, of course. Stupid, stupid Doctor!"

"What's wrong? Tell me, what is it, what..."

"It's you," Angel realized, rubbing her head, the Doctor's thoughts were racing so much and so loud they were starting to give her a migraine, "Going back and helping..." she glanced at Young Kazran, smiling at the man he'd become, the man he was before them, "We changed you," she looked at the older version, "The machine won't recognize you anymore."

"But my father programmed it..."

"He would never have programmed it for the man you are now," the Doctor told him.

"Then what do we do?"

"Um...um...I don't know, I don't know."

"There must be something!" Young Kazran cried, grabbing Angel's hand for comfort.

Kazran pulled out the sonic, "This! You can use this! I kept it, see?"

"What, half a screwdriver?" the Doctor scoffed, "With the other half...up in the sky in a big old shark, right in the heart of the cloud layer!" he cheered, spinning to the Kazrans from where he'd paced off, "We use your aerial to boost the signal, set up a resonation pattern between the two halves...that would work! My screwdriver," he winked at Young Kazran, "Coolest bit of kit on this planet. Could do it."

"Do what?"

"My screwdriver is still trying to repair. It's signaling itself. We use the signal, but we send something else."

"Send what?" Young Kazran frowned.

"Well?" Kazran asked when the Doctor didn't say, "What? What?"

The Doctor turned to him solemn, "I'm sorry, Kazran. I truly am."

"I don't understand."

"We need to send something into the cloud belt, something we know works."

Angel took a breath, knowing the Doctor wouldn't want to say it, "Abigail has to sing."

~8~

They stood in the ice vault again, Kazran just having put in the code to warm Abigail up, "Her voice resonates perfectly with the ice crystals," the Doctor told them, "It calmed the shark. It will calm the sky, too."

"Could you do it?" Kazran turned to him, "Could either of you do this? Think about it, Doctor. One last day with your beloved. Which day would you choose?"

The Doctor blinked a strange, _painful_ , feeling rising in his hearts, he felt _empathy_ with the man, like he understood _exactly_ how he felt…but when had he ever had only a day left with someone he loved? He remembered vaguely the time Angel had been ill, he remembered feeling scared she'd die, that she'd leave him alone. He recalled the terror and pain he'd felt in the Daleks' Vault, thinking _that_ was how her last day might go. He didn't want that, to be alone, but...it was odd though. It was like that entire time with Donna was a blur, like it had happened too fast. He put a hand on his hearts, feeling them twist painfully, maybe that was it. It hurt too much to remember, so he didn't.

Angel looked over at him, hearing his thoughts, a small frown on her face. Maybe...maybe that one theory of hers was correct, that the last him just...hadn't wanted to remember her because it would hurt too much to see her with a different man and know it wasn't 'him.' Maybe his efforts had gone a bit wrong, maybe he'd taken it too far and left the holes in this Doctor's memory as a result. In a way...it was sweet, to think the last him loved her so much, but...in another way...it hurt that it meant he _wanted_ to forget her. She hoped he wouldn't have done it purposefully, like her theory that he had regretted the Mating, but she just...didn't know.

Young Kazran looked up as he felt Angel tense beside him. He frowned, seeing a very sad expression on her face as she looked at the Doctor's back as he stood before them. He squeezed her hand, earning a small smile from the woman as she looked back at him, squeezing his hand in return.

"Christmas," Abigail answered, stepping out of the box, "Christmas Day. Look at you," she gently touched Karan's cheek, "So old now. I think you waited a bit too long, didn't you?"

"I'm sorry."

"Hoarding my days, like an old miser."

"But...if you leave the ice now..."

"We've had so many Christmas Eves, Kazran," Abigail reached out and took his hand, "I think it's time for Christmas Day."

~8~

"Doctor?!" Amy cried into her comm..

"We can't hold this," the captain called, "Time's up, we're going down."

"Angel!"

"Captain, I've got..." the second pilot called, "I don't know what I've got," he switched on the speaker so everyone could hear someone singing.

"What are you listening to?" the captain asked.

"This is coming from outside. This is coming from the clouds."

~8~

Abigail stood in the road outside Kazran's house, singing into the sonic which the Doctor connected to Kazran's machine via a series of very long wires, "When you're alone, silence is all you know..."

The Doctor stood working on some adjustments while Kazran watched Abigail, entranced, Angel behind Young Kazran with her arms over his shoulders, locking in front of his chest as they smiled and enjoyed the song, Angel with a knowing smile on her face, certain it would all be alright.

"Well?" Kazran looked at the Doctor.

"When you're alone, silence is all you know..."

"Well, the singing resonates in the crystals," the Doctor nodded, "It's feeding back and forth between the two halves of the screwdriver."

"Let in the noise and let it grow..."

"One song, filling the sky. The crystals will align, I'll feed in a controlled phase loop, and the clouds will unlock!"

Angel smiled and looked up.

"What does that mean?" Young Kazran frowned, twisting to glance up at Angel, "What happens when a cloud unlocks?"

"Something wonderful that I don't think anyone has seen in quite some time," Angel breathed, laughing as snow began to fall.

~8~

"We're flying normally," the first pilot gaped.

"Can you land?" the captain looked over.

"I can even land well!"

Amy and Rory hugged tightly, "Oh, they did it!" she laughed, "The Doctor and Angel did it."

"Yeah, they get all the credit," he remarked, before sighing, "Which is actually fair enough, if you think about it."

Amy just smiled and kissed him.

~8~

Kazran wrapped a hand around one of Abigail's as she sang, "When you're alone, silence is all you see. When you're alone, silence is all you'll be…give me your hand and come to me!"

The people of the city came slowly out of their houses to marvel at the snow, the adults barely able to remember a time when this happened, taking as much time to enjoy it as their children were, all of them starting to play in the white flurries.

"When you are here, music is all around. When you are here, music is all around..." Abigail placed her hand against Kazran's cheek and they both looked up at the sky to see the shark swimming above them.

"Hello, my old friend!" Kazran called up to it with a cheer.

"Open your eyes…don't make a sound!"

"Come along Kazran," Angel shifted her arms to rest on Young Kazran's shoulders, leading him off to the TARDIS, now parked outside the mansion as well, "I think it's time we get you home for a Christmas Day of your own."

"Doctor," Kazran looked at the man as his younger self went with Angel to the box.

"Merry Christmas Kazran," the Doctor smiled, waving as he moved to follow Angel.

"Doctor," Kazran repeated, making him stop, "I wasted my time with Abigail," he told the man, "Don't waste yours with your own beloved."

The Doctor blinked and frowned at that, not having a clue what the man was talking about before he shook his head, walking to the TARDIS as Young Kazran entered. He and Angel paused in the doorway, smiling, looking around. The Doctor's gaze fell on Angel, his smile softening, he truly couldn't imagine this adventure without her. He knew she had played a large role in getting through to Kazran, both the adult and the child, she was wonderful like that. He should have known though, he should have had faith right from the start that things would work out with Angel there. She really was a Christmas Angel...

~oOo~

_"Doctor, it must be well past midnight, Earth time," Mr. Copper said, joining them, "Christmas Day."_

_"So it is," he smiled, "Merry Christmas," he looked at Angel softly, lifting her hand to kiss the back of it, "Merry Christmas Angel, oh!" he shouted suddenly, making Astrid and Mr. Copper jump but Angel just smile, "A Christmas angel," he nodded, kissing Angel's forehead as well, "That's what you are, my good luck charm and my Christmas angel."_

_"You're my angel too you know," she whispered back to him, resting her chin on his shoulder to look at him, "My spaceman angel."_

_He leaned forward, giving her a peck, "I like that title."_

_She beamed, "I like the title of Mate as well," she told him._

_"I love it," he breathed, staring into her eyes, "The Doctor, Mate of the Angel," he winked, "Perfect. Like you."_

~oOo~

"Come on," Angel whispered, stepping into the TARDIS, pulling him from his thoughts as he tried to place where he had heard that phrase 'Christmas angel' before, neither of them noticed Kazran and Abigail wave as the TARDIS disappeared, leaving a carriage and harness behind it.

"Let in the shadow…let in the shadow, let in the light of your bright shadow…"

~8~

The Doctor rubbed his nose with a snowman as Angel laughed, standing by a small group of children, teaching them how to make one as well, "You know, that could almost be mistaken for a real person!" Amy smiled, "The snowman isn't bad, either."

Angel turned and excused herself from the children, stepping back to the Doctor as he looked up to see Amy and Rory walking up the street towards them, both still in their outfits, "Ah, yes, you two!" he grinned, "About time! ...why are you dressed like that?"

"Ah, kind of lost our luggage," Rory reminded him, "Kind of crash landed."

"Why are you dressed like a policewoman and centurion though?" Angel raised an eyebrow at them, a knowing smirk on her face, "Why not wear real clothes?

"They _really_ love their snowmen around here," Amy offered instead, "I've counted about 20."

"Yeah, we've been busy," the Doctor nodded.

"Teaching the children how to make snowmen," Angel added.

"Yeah, yeah, you have," Amy hugged the Doctor, "Thank you!"

Angel laughed, hugging Rory as well.

"Pleasure," the Doctor stepped back, allowing Angel to hug Amy too, "Right, come on, then, let's go!" they headed back for the TARDIS.

"Got any more honeymoon ideas?" Rory wondered.

"There's a moon that's made of actual honey. Well, not actual honey. And it's not actually a moon. And technically, it's alive and a bit carnivorous, but there are some lovely views," he unlocked the doors.

"Yeah, great, thanks," Rory shook his head.

"Don't worry Rory," Angel smiled, "I'll pilot this time, I've a few ideas."

He smiled at her gratefully before entering.

"Are you ok?" Amy eyed them.

"Course we're ok," the Doctor smiled, "You?"

"Of course," she glanced up at the sky, observing the snow, "It'll be their last day together, won't it?"

"Everything, all things, must die," Angel remarked, "Otherwise nothing would ever begin."

Rory opened the door and peeked out at the Doctor, "Your phone was ringing. Someone called Marilyn. Actually sounds like THE Marilyn."

"Doctor?" Amy eyed him.

"Tell her I'm busy," he groaned, sounding very much like Marilyn was the LAST person he wanted to deal with which made Angel smile a bit.

Rory laughed and headed back in as Amy looked around, "Where are they? Kazran and Abigail?"

"Off on a little trip, I should think," the Doctor smiled.

"Where?"

"Christmas," Angel smiled as well.

"Christmas?"

"Yeah, Christmas," the Doctor nodded. Amy just shook her head and went inside as the Doctor looked up at the sky, "Halfway out of the dark."

"Halfway into the light," Angel corrected, watching as the couple flew over head in a carriage drawn by a shark...but then she looked over at the speakers set up along the streets, her breath catching in her throat as her hearts stopped hearing the song playing over them.

'All I Want For Christmas' was playing, a slower version. It made sense, this was a period in humanity's future...so that song was of the past...but...that song, why did it have to be that song?

She swallowed hard and looked at the Doctor...but he didn't even seem to notice it was playing as he looked up at the sky, waving at Kazran and Abigail as they passed. She closed her eyes tightly, shaking her head and turned to head in...when the Doctor put a hand on her arm a moment, stopping her.

"Angel…" he eyed her, concerned and, for a single moment, she thought perhaps he'd seen her expression fall at how he hadn't heard the melody playing, that familiar and oh-so important melody, but his next words countered her thought, "Was there any particular reason you wanted Amy and Rory to go on the ship and not stay on the TARDIS after we stopped the Egyptian goddess?"

She blinked, "No."

"Are you sure?" he frowned, "You barely gave them a minute to change clothes before you were setting a course for the starliner. You didn't even let us change out of our formal clothes before we were rushing out to the Orient Express either."

She shrugged, "I just thought they'd enjoy a real honeymoon…which you should be setting a course for right now, don't you think?" his eyes widened at that reminder and he ran to the console where Amy and Rory were sitting around.

Angel sighed and looked at the TARDIS, stroking the corner of the door frame. That had been a partial truth, it seemed she was getting better at those sorts of lies, not that she was happy about it. She didn't like lying. She really HAD wanted to give them a good honeymoon instead of tokens though. But that wasn't all there was to it.

She just...had a feeling...she _couldn't_ let Amy and Rory begin something on the TARDIS.

What, though, she didn't know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wait...Angel stopped Amy and Rory from...doing things?! What?! But...if the first time Amy and Rory were together in this reality was on their wedding night...and Angel kept that from happening...what does this mean for River?!
> 
> All I can say is that River IS the biological daughter of her parents and, as we saw, she's still the one manipulated by the Silence, she's still a psychopath, and she still ends up in Stormcage for murder, so all that happened in her past to bring that on still happened. So really, the only question is...how might that happen? Could it be that Angel leaves between this series and the next and returns for Space/Time which means the Ponds would be left unattended in flight, through the Vortex, in their room? 
> 
> I can say Sarah Jane will be making Angel an offer she might not be able to refuse given her 'condition' at the moment }:) I suppose we'll have to wait and see }:)
> 
> I know you probably want to kill me for sneaking in 'All I Want for Christmas' in here and having the Doctor be completely oblivious to it }:) But lol, did you love how Kazran told him not to waste time with Angel? I found it ironic because Kazran wasted so much time not being with Abigail and the Doctor has NO idea what the man's talking about :)


	51. Death of the Doctor: The Shansheeth

Sarah Jane Smith and Jo Jones ran down the hallway of UNIT, nearly crashing into Rani, Clyde, and Jo's grandson, Santiago, in the process. They had been invited to the base by a Colonel Tia Karim who had contacted them to inform them that the Doctor had died. They had been stunned and, unlike the children, hadn't believed a word of it for a moment. How could they? How could the Doctor have died?! It didn't make sense, especially to Sarah Jane as she knew Angel had been there with him, and the girl was psychic! She had the Vortex in her! With Angel there, there was no way that the Doctor could have died. And even then, she knew, if he HAD died, she'd feel it. She had to have, how could a man as important as the Doctor just die and no one notice? THAT made no sense at all, THAT was impossible. There would have been something, a whisper, a rumor, a tale, that would have made it back to her on Earth.

But Tia had insisted that he man had died, that he'd died on a distant planet, saving children. Which, she had to admit, was like him, he adored children, even more so after the War, she couldn't picture him ever letting a child come to harm. Tia had claimed that an alien species, the Shansheeth, rather large vulture-like birds with human hands, had found the Doctor's body and, being the 'intergalactic undertakers' had sworn to return the Doctor to the planet that meant the most to him, Earth, for a proper funeral. UNIT had taken over, joined with the Shansheeth, to try and get the funeral in motion, but it was all too suspicious for Sarah Jane.

She'd spent her life working as an investigative journalist, she saw the things that didn't fit her logic. If UNIT had anything to do with it, they would have contacted Martha first and foremost, knowing she was a former companion of the Doctor and a good friend of Angel's. Not only that, they would have contacted the Brigadier too! But there was no word from either of them and, no matter what, no matter what profession Martha went into, whether it was freelance alien fighting or some odd work for Torchwood...she'd heard Jack's brother had recently become immortal like he was and Martha had gone to help run tests and see if it was a permanent condition or not...or what have you, Martha would have contacted her.

Never mind that, MICKEY would have contacted her. Because the man would have been frantic, worried for Angel if the Doctor was dead, because they all knew that Mating meant she would die as well...and yet no body had been recovered for her. And if she was somewhere else, then she had died alone and her body was just lying there somewhere, alone and abandoned and that didn't sit right with her. But there was no word from Martha or Mickey or Jack! If UNIT knew of something like this they would have contacted Torchwood as well, but nothing. There was no sign that others were affected by the Doctor's death. And that was so wrong.

On top of that...only she and Jo had been invited to the funeral. Yes, yes, Tia had remarked that the Brigadier was in Peru and Liz Shaw as on the moon base, but that didn't mean she'd contacted them, just that they were unavailable. There had been a small Remembrance Ceremony before the Doctor's lead lined coffin, and it had been surprisingly empty. And she knew, anyone who knew the Doctor, who had even met him for a moment, would want to be there, would do anything to be there. So why was it just her and Jo? Why JUST them?

They had both agreed, of course, that the Shansheeth and Tia were lying, they had to be, they just needed proof, which was why they were now running through the halls of UNIT, trying to find the children who hadn't believed them, thinking it was just their refusal to accept the fate of the Doctor and Angel.

"There you are!" Sarah Jane gasped in relief as she reached out to put her hands on Clyde's shoulders, so happy to see them ok. She was thankful now that Luke had gone away to University, and wasn't there at the moment. She could tell they were in terrible danger and the last thing she wanted was for him to get involved. She always hated it when he and Clyde and Rani got in the middle of situations like this, well, not hated it per say, more like worried a ridiculous amount that something would happen to them. She was starting to understand how the Doctor must feel with his companions, he was so old, so like a parent to them, they must appear children to him, and if he worried even a fraction of how much she did for the kids, she was surprised he wasn't gray-haired within the first adventure after regeneration.

"Sarah Jane, it's the Shansheeth," Clyde told her, "They're lying through their beaks. They want you and Jo this whole thing's a trap."

He and Rani and Santiago hadn't believed it at first. Why would UNIT lie? UNIT was an ally of the Doctor, wasn't it? So when the soldiers appeared and told them of the death of the Doctor, and the likely death of Angel, they'd believed them. But now...they'd been in the ventilation shafts, they'd heard the Shansheeth plotting something that had to do with Sarah Jane and Jo, they were going to try and use the memories of the women to do something and kill them after. It was all a trap! And if it was a trap for them, maybe the Doctor was alive...oh he hoped he was, because his hand, the same hand that had hit the TARDIS during Sarah Jane's almost-wedding, kept sparking with Artron Energy and it was worrying him.

"I knew it!" Sarah Jane grinned. She _knew_ those vulture-like aliens were lying, as if the Doctor could ever just die like that, as though Angel wouldn't somehow be able to save him.

"If they're lying that means the Doctor's still alive!" Jo realized.

"Yes!" Sarah Jane cheered as she and Jo high-fived each other.

"Course I'm still alive Jo, I'd have _thought_ that was obvious," Clyde spoke, though it was most certainly _not_ his voice that was talking, "Catch up."

"I beg your pardon?" Jo looked at Clyde, startled.

"Clyde is that you?" Sarah Jane frowned.

"Course it's not it's _me_!" Clyde continued, "I'm using Clyde as a receiver. I've keyed into his residual Artron Energy to organize a very complicated biological swap across ten thousand light years, hold on…"

Clyde twitched and groaned in pain as Artron Energy swarmed around him for a moment, leaving him panting, "That wasn't me," he breathed, a bit scared, "That wasn't me speaking. I'm getting…" he trailed off, looking at his left hand which was white and slightly older looking, "That's not my hand. It's…my hand's not white."

He was suddenly shocked again, twisting in pain as a brown-haired man in a tweed jacket and blue bowtie appeared in his place for a moment, "Sorry Clyde but…" Clyde was back for only a second before he and the man kept swapping places, "This…Space…Is…Taken!" with one final grunt the bowtied man was standing where Clyde had been, grinning at them, "Good…so, gosh that was different, hello everyone!"

"Who are you?" Rani demanded as the man looked at her, "Where's Clyde?"

"Come on Rani. Use your brain. Clyde and I have swapped places. Yes, I'm where he was, so he's where I was which means right now, oh…" he grimaced, "He's in a lot of trouble…"

~8~

"Doctor?" Clyde looked around the red landscape he'd found himself on, clearly another planet given the actual planets he could see in the sky, a sort of scepter-like device whirring behind him, "Doctor!"

"Clyde?" a voice called.

He spun around to see Angel was there, sitting by the device, looking at him with wide eyes as she blinked, clearly the Doctor disappearing had been as unexpected for her as it was for him.

~8~

"You bring him back…" Rani glared, "Whoever you are!"

"No, no Rani don't you see?" Sarah Jane laughed, looking at the man fondly, working it out, "It's you isn't it? You've done it again?"

"Hello Sarah Jane," he smiled, oh his companion was brilliant!

Leave it to Sarah Jane Smith to figure out what had happened and who he was. She had a habit of doing that, he realized, figuring out that it was him from just a few clues. She'd been brilliant when he'd met her as his last self, worked it out (or at least been suspicious) from just him introducing himself as John Smith.

"Doctor?" Sarah Jane asked cautiously.

" _That's_ the Doctor?" Rani eyed him, seeming to have trouble imagining HE was the same man who had appeared at the wedding. She knew about regeneration, Sarah Jane had told them about it, but to see it actually before her, some new man who WAS the Doctor...it was weird.

"What Doctor?" Jo looked confused, " _The_ Doctor? _My_ Doctor?"

"Well…he can change his face," Sarah Jane remarked.

"I know, but into a baby's?"

"Oi!" he cried, "Imagine it from my point of view. The last item I saw you Jo Grant you were what? 21? 22? It's like someone's aged you."

"Doctor?" Sarah Jane frowned, realizing something as she tried to look behind him for someone, "Where's Angel?"

"Oh, she's fine," he waved her off, "She's probably with Clyde right now. Or Clyde's with her. Either way, they're together."

"But you said he was in trouble!" Sarah Jane shook her head, not understanding how he could be so...flippant...with his _Mate_ in trouble. Because 'trouble' for him usually meant epic danger for everyone else. And that...was so wrong, that was so SO not right, the last him...she'd seen him when his Mate was in danger, in any sort of danger, and he was terrifying when she was in that situation.

She knew regeneration could change him, she'd seen it before, experienced how different he could be. But THAT? There was no way, in her mind, that the Doctor, any version of him, could be so easygoing about ANGEL being in danger. It made less sense than the Shansheeth's ridiculous story that he'd died!

And, speaking of the Shansheeth...

"Everyone!" Santiago cried, pointing back down the hall, "Meanwhile…"

They looked back as three Shansheeth appeared at the end of the corridor, walking towards them. The humans stepped back, Sarah Jane and Jo moving in front of the children, but the Doctor just stepped past them, walking down the hall towards the overgrown birds, "Ah, yes, the Claw Shansheeth of the 15th Funeral Fleet, I've been looking for you! Have you been telling people I'm dead?"

"I apologize, the death notice was released a little too soon…" the Shansheeth in the middle of the other two replied, "Though I can rectify this immediately!" he raised his hand and a red beam of energy struck the Doctor in the chest, painfully, "I'm so sorry for your loss Doctor," he added as the Doctor fell to his knees, "Rest in peace!"

~8~

Angel looked at the device as it started to hum, reaching out to touch it, trying to see if something was wrong.

"What is that?" Clyde looked at it as well, "Sounds like a countdown."

Angel just closed her eyes a moment, seeing in her mind and feeling in her soul the Doctor in danger, the pain he was in, "That idiot…" she shook her head, alarmed, knowing the Doctor was under attack and she could help but that she was trapped on another planet with no way to get back to him and...

And then, right before Clyde's very eyes, she disappeared in a swirl of gold light.

"What?!" Clyde blinked.

~8~

Sarah Jane's eyes widened as a small swirl of gold appeared in the hallway between them and the Doctor and Angel appeared with in it, though...she noticed that Angel, while dressed in her typical blue dress, wasn't wearing her black belt which was curious. Angel looked around a moment, seemingly as confused and startled to be standing there as they were to see her, before she saw the Shansheeth attacking the Doctor. She quickly ran to him, throwing out her hands, blasting (well, more like pushing or jolting) the three Shansheeth back with the Vortex energy, freeing the Doctor.

He panted a moment, trying to recover himself from that attack, when he blinked and looked up at her, before jumping to his feet and spinning to her, more shocked than the humans were to see her standing there, "How did you _do_ that?" he'd seen the flash of gold and that was NOT the same energy that had been used by the little device he'd rigged up.

"I have no idea," she admitted, rubbing her head with her hand, her head was pounding now and her limbs felt like lead...

And then she stiffened...

It was _just_ like when she'd appeared in the Thames House to help Jack and Owen and Ianto when they'd dealt with the 456. But...it hadn't hurt as much. She remembered standing beside the device, her hand on it as she tried to check it...and wanting to be with the Doctor, wanting to help and then...the next thing she knew, her hand felt warm and she'd appeared there...only feeling the effects after she'd appeared. She didn't know what it was, she _couldn't_ have teleported herself with the Vortex across ten thousand light-years, not _that_ easily, not without killing herself, she was NOT that strong...but...maybe the device the Doctor had made had helped? It worked based on Artron Energy, it had used it to get the Doctor there...maybe, when she'd touched it, it had absorbed a bit of the Vortex Energy and done the same, used that to teleport her there as well.

But...that _did_ make her curious...it still affected her, she was still stiff and sore and her head hurt so...maybe it wasn't entirely the device, maybe just a tiny, tiny portion of it...was her. She HAD been able to teleport when the Vortex was in full control of her, like when she'd faced the Beast in the Pit...she'd just appeared there, and then appeared in the TARDIS again.

"It just happened!" she shook herself from her thoughts.

"Never mind how it happened!" Sarah Jane called, seeing the Shansheeth start to get up from where they'd stumbled and fallen back from Angel's push, "Just run!"

The two Time Lords ran after the group as they fled down the hallway, the Doctor pushing Angel ahead of him, keeping himself between her and the Shansheeth should they fire again, seeming to forget, for the moment, that she could easily bring up a wall of Vortex energy to shield them if needed, but it didn't register, in his mind, there were enemies behind them and he HAD to make sure Angel was safe. Sarah Jane opened a door at the end of the hall, ushering everyone through it, waiting till the Doctor and Angel had jumped through before closing it behind her.

~8~

"No!" Clyde shook the device as the humming slowed the moment Angel had disappeared, "No, no, no, no, no don't slow down! Take me back!"

~8~

They ran down a hall, Angel rushing ahead to lead them to a room they'd be safe in despite the throbbing in her head, all of them dashing in, "In, in, in, in, in, in, in!" the Doctor called, ushering the others in as well.

"I'm sorry is there a problem?" Tia, a colonel of UNIT, the one who had brought Sarah Jane and Jo there, called out as she walked over to them, having spotted their mad run.

The Doctor just shut the door in her face before opening it again, "Sorry, I was…"

Before he could even finish, Angel ran over and shoved the door shut once more, "Don't trust her," Angel panted, staying against the door to hold it shut.

"Right," the Doctor spun around to look at Sarah Jane, "Right, now we need to lock it, come on use sonic lipstick."

Sarah Jane ran to the door, "Haven't you go the sonic screwdriver?"

"They took it," Angel told her which made Sarah Jane shake her head as she pulled out her own sonic and locked the door.

"Wow!" Jo walked over and looked at her, "They do sonic lipsticks now?"

"Well, we're running out of time," the Doctor murmured, turning to Jo and Sarah Jane, "I need you Sarah," he took her hand, "And you Jo…" and hers as well.

"Need us for what?"

"Remember the old days when I'd go zooming off to far away worlds?" he asked, and a moment later they disappeared in a flash of Artron Energy, leaving Clyde in their place, confused.

"Oi!" Angel shouted at the ceiling, feeling...her hearts zing at that.

They'd been getting closer over their adventures with Amy, and they were closer now than they had been when he'd regenerated and she'd realized his amnesia had set in. Every adventure they got closer and closer but...it was almost like, whenever that happened, something would pop up or the Doctor would do something that made her feel like he was trying to push her away, like he was aware they were closer and like...he didn't want that.

Having him take Sarah Jane and Jo and leave her there...it was like a big reminder that he'd forgotten her all over again. And it hurt. She could understand if he had wanted her to stay there to protect the children, but he hadn't said anything, he hadn't indicated that was part of the plan. If it had been, she'd stay, but right now she had no idea what to do. His thoughts hadn't been on her at all when he'd disappeared.

As though hearing her shout, Clyde disappeared in another pop of energy and the Doctor was back, "Sorry," he smiled sheepishly, grabbing her arm.

Angel turned to the children, realizing the Doctor intended to take her with him, "Stay here! Don't go anywhere else ok?"

Before they could respond, she and the Doctor disappeared once more.

Clyde groaned as he appeared, leaning over to put his hands on his knees, nearly heaving, "Oh…" he groaned, "I'm getting space sick…" Rani just laughed and ran forward to hug him, happy he was ok and back with them.

~8~

Sarah Jane watched, stunned, as the Doctor reappeared before her and Jo with Angel before he dashed between them straight for the device. It wasn't even that he'd just deposited them on another planet and disappeared, or that he was distracted by some odd device, it wasn't that at all. It was the fact that, as soon as she'd appeared there, she realized...Angel was not there with them. The Doctor hadn't taken Angel too! At first she had thought, perhaps they had telepathically communicated a plan, that Angel would stay behind and guard the children...but the Doctor had started towards the device, stopped dead, shouted 'Angel!' and then disappeared to get her.

THAT was what had shocked her.

Because it _wasn't_ a plan, the Doctor had truly forgotten to bring Angel with them! How on...wherever they were...had that happened? Of all things SHE expected to have been left behind and taken later, her or Jo, but _never_ Angel. And now, just now, he'd popped up with the girl...and simply let go of her to run to the device. There was no hug, no reassurance that she was ok, no apology for having forgotten to bring her, nothing at all. She turned, eyeing the Doctor a moment, this was NOT the Doctor she remembered, and she knew...something was very, _very_ wrong.

But the Doctor didn't seem to notice her gaze as he knelt by the scepter-like device to examine it, "No, no, no, no…let's get you working properly. Stop, stop, stop."

"Where are we?" Jo asked as she looked up at the sky, pulling Sarah Jane's attention over...

"Angel," Sarah Jane walked over to her, putting a hand on Angel's shoulder to steady her as the girl swayed, "Are you alright?!"

That was another thing, Angel was clearly shaky from that teleport...and the Doctor had just let go of her and focused on some machine? That wasn't like him at all. The Doctor would have been fretting over her, insisting she sit, scanning her with the sonic, trying to see what was wrong with her, ignoring anything and everything around him till she reassured him she was fine.

What had _happened_ to him?

"Fine," Angel said quietly, though Sarah Jane heard a somber note in her voice and caught the girl's gaze as it flashed to the Doctor and she realized...Angel was well aware of the difference in the Doctor as well, and it was _hurting_ her.

"The Wasteland of the Crimson Heart," the Doctor replied, not having heard Sarah Jane's own question as he stood up to point at a spot behind them, "Planet Earth's that way…" they slowly turned to look, "Bit of a long walk. Sonic please?"

Sarah Jane frowned and held out her lipstick, not even noticing the beauty of the planet around her in her concern for both the Doctor and Angel. The Doctor just took it with a grin and knelt back by the device.

"Wow," Jo smiled, "Oh, so many years since I was on another planet."

"Me too," Sarah Jane murmured, pulling her attention away from the Doctor to look around.

He stood up, laughing, before spinning around and getting back to work.

Angel shook her head at him and squeezed Sarah Jane's hand that was still on her arm, before she stepped away from her and over to Jo, "I don't think we've met yet," she said to Jo, "I'm the Angel."

"Oh, yes," Jo smiled at her, "I'm Jo Jones, nee Grant, I was a companion of the Doctor like Sarah Jane."

"Well, in that case," Angel smiled, hugging her, "It's _very_ nice to meet you!" Jo laughed, hugging her back as Sarah Jane smiled.

Sarah Jane looked over at the Doctor and her smile started to fade, what had happened just then? The Doctor had taken SUCH pride in introducing Angel as his Mate, according to the stories of Donna and Martha, he was _always_ doing that, yet...right now, he was just working away on that stupid device. It was like he didn't even seem to be paying any attention to Angel at all.

~8~

"I'm sorry but can I help?" Tia called through the door as she knocked on it, standing in the hall with the Shansheeth on either side of her, "Is something wrong?"

"But she's on our side isn't she?" Santiago whispered.

"Think about it," Rani replied, "The Doctor's been avoiding her but why? 'Cos Angel said not to trust her! Don't you see? Someone _inside_ UNIT had to fake the DNA results to convince people they had the Doctor's body. Colonel Karim, she's in league with the Shansheeth!"

Tia leaned back from the door where she'd been listening, "Not as daft as they look for two batty old pensioners and a bunch of asberg kids. How on Earth did they summon the Doctor and Angel?"

"They have powers unforeseen," the head Shansheeth remarked.

"Right, first things first. We need to clear this place, seal it off, and keep that lot trapped!" and with that, she turned and stormed down the hall, the Shansheeth following.

~8~

"Do you see?" Rani pointed to a diagram of the base she'd managed to bring up on a computer in the back of the room, "We're slap bang in the middle of the base. There's _got_ to be a way of getting help."

They all looked up suddenly when the alarms started to blare, "What's that mean?" Santiago frowned at the diagram as a section of rooms on it turned red.

"Karim's sealed off the entire funeral wing. We're trapped."

There was a rustling behind them and the grate of the ventilation shaft fell down. They turned to see a blue Groske poke its head out, "Hurry, hurry, follow me!"

They were hesitant to follow it though. They'd encountered Graske before, little red aliens that did nothing but cause trouble and they didn't think a Groske would be much better. They'd seen the Groske working with UNIT and, according to Tia, the Groske were working with UNIT as a form of payment, being allowed to stay there if they helped keep the place up. According to Tia, they weren't nearly as despicable as the Graske, though, since it was all 'according to Tia' they weren't sure they believed her.

But, having little other options, they followed him into the shaft and shuffled down it.

~8~

"Dispense with the coffin," the head Shansheeth told its comrades as they entered the Wake Room where the Remembrance Ceremony and the coffin had been, "Prepare this room for the coalescence," the other two pushed the coffin to the side of the room, against the wall, "Behold, the Memory Weave is ready," he turned around and doors in the back of the room opened behind him to reveal the TARDIS, "Soon it will be active. Deliver the women to our wings and not even the Doctor or his Mate will be able to stop the crusade of the Shansheeth!"

~8~

The Doctor was crouched down beside Sarah Jane as she helped him fix the device while Angel roamed around, seeing if there was any more tech around that might be able to help, Jo sitting off a little ways watching them all though her gaze kept being pulled to Angel. She had seen so much when she travelled with the Doctor, it had opened her eyes to so many things and, she liked to think, she was a rather good judge of character, able to tell the good from the bad, the beautiful inside from the terrible, the lying from the honest. And that girl...she was sweet but...she could tell there was SO much more to her than met the eye.

She didn't really know that much about her, to be honest, she knew she was a Time Lady, given her introduction as 'the' Angel. She knew she had to be kind and gentle and a good person because really, the titles the Time Lords chose really DID say SO much about them! Look at the Doctor! She knew the girl travelled with the Doctor. And she knew the Doctor was completely head over heels in love with her. Oh he couldn't see it, this Doctor struck her as a bit more oblivious than the ones she'd met earlier, but she could tell, she could just _tell_. And if he wasn't in love with her, he would be very, VERY soon. That girl, in the few minutes she'd known her, she knew she was, well, just what the doctor ordered so to speak. She'd be good for him. She just knew it.

And she could tell Angel was fond of him as well.

"There…" the Doctor pointed to a part of the device. He held a wire to it, ready for Sarah Jane to attach it with her sonic, "…and there…"

"Did it hurt?" Sarah Jane murmured, trying to work out what might have happened. The last time she'd seen him, she got the sense he was about to regenerate from the solemn look on his face, but he'd been so sweet to Angel even then, so she knew something had to have happened to him during regeneration to make him act like this around Angel, so distant. If he could just tell her about it...maybe she could work out exactly what had changed in him.

She very much doubted that Angel had done something that made him this way. And even then, if Angel had somehow been the cause of his regeneration, he wouldn't have been angry or pushed her away, he'd have willingly done whatever it was to save her. It just...it didn't make sense! What could have possibly happened to make him like this?

"…and there…" he continued, pretending like he hadn't heard her.

"I mean the regeneration…" she glanced at Angel, seeing them acting the way they were, seeing the Doctor act so distant from her was off-putting, "That last body of yours, was he ok in the end?"

"It always hurts," he muttered, "…and there."

Sarah Jane sighed, seeing she wouldn't get any more out of him, "So how did you end up in this place?" she stood up, brushing the dirt off her hands.

"The Shansheeth lured me to a mighty old battle field just begging to be explored," he straightened up.

"I _told_ him not to go," Angel added, walking over with a few pieces of tech she'd found, holding them out to the Doctor to examine, though, in the end, he ended up tossing all of them over his shoulder.

"Psychic," he remarked.

"Thief," she countered.

Sarah Jane's frown deepened, even their playful banter was off!

"Anyway he didn't listen to me. And here we are."

"'Cos we're travelling with Amy now," the Doctor explained.

"And Rory," Angel started to smile, "He's my companion."

"Mickey wants to meet him," Sarah Jane added.

They often got together, her and the other companions, every couple months they would meet up and just catch up, talk and laugh and reminisce. It helped to adjust to life on Earth, to have others around you that understood what you'd done and where you'd been and what you'd seen. It had been her idea really, after she'd offered Rose to come find her if she ever needed her, it had made her want to keep in touch with other companions of the Doctor and, as more and more showed up, they'd just...started meeting. She understood all too well how hard it was to adjust to life back on Earth and she'd found that, doing that, meeting with them, it really helped the younger generation to get used to their new lives too. And it brought them all closer, made them feel like even more of a family than just knowing Angel had.

"It might take a while," Angel laughed, completely swearing to herself that she would do that, she wanted her companions to meet, because they really were such amazing men and she knew that they'd get on very well, "He just got married after all."

"Yes," the Doctor nodded, "We dropped them off at a honeymoon planet, which isn't what you'd think. It's not a planet for a honeymoon, it's a planet _on_ a honeymoon, it married an asteroid! And they nicked the TARDIS."

"The _Shansheeth_ stole the TARDIS," Angel corrected, "It wasn't Rory."

"Or Amy," the Doctor agreed, "Fortunately we had all the wreckage to build a space whopping do da thinga ma whatsit."

"So you've got a married couple in the TARDIS?" Jo eyed him, sitting a short distance away.

"Mr. and Mrs. Pond."

"I only left you because I got married."

The Doctor fumbled a bit, not sure how to react to that, so he pointed to a spot on the device, "…and there…"

"Did you think I was stupid?" Jo looked at him.

"Why do you say that?"

"Well…I _was_ a bit dumb. Still am I suppose."

"Now what in the world would make you think that?" he walked over to sit across from her as Angel sat down by the device, Sarah Jane sitting beside her, "Ever, ever, ever?"

Jo shrugged, "We'd been travelling down the Amazon for months and we'd reached a village in Crystalina and it was the only place for thousands of miles that had a telephone. So I called you. I just wanted to say hello. And they told me that you'd left, left UNIT, never came back. So I waited. I waited, because you said you'd see me again. You did. I asked you and you said yes. You promised. So I thought, one day, I'd hear that sound deep in the jungle, I'd hear that funny wheezing noise and a big blue box right in the middle of the rainforest. 'Cos, see, he wouldn't just leave, not forever. Not me. I waited my whole silly life…"

"Oh, but you're an idiot!" he laughed.

"Well there we have it," she nodded.

"No, no, no but don't you see? How could I ever find you? You spent the past 40 years living in huts, climbing up trees, tearing down barricades. You've done everything from flying kites on Kilimanjaro…" his smile turned knowing, "To sailing down the Yangtze in a tea chest. Not even the TARDIS could pin you down. I had to get Angel to pilot because..."

"Hold on…" Jo cut in, staring at him with wide eyes, "I _did_ sail down the Yangtze in a tea chest. How did you know?"

"And that family, all 7 kids, 12 grandchildren, 13th on his way," he gave her a look as her expression turned even more shocked to hear information she'd told Sarah Jane earlier repeated from him, that HE knew it too, "Angel says he'll be dyslexic but that'll be fine. He'll also be a great swimmer apparently."

"So you've been watching me, all this time?" she breathed, touched.

"No," he sighed, "Because you're right I don't look back, I can't. But…the last time I was dying," he started to smile, "Angel...she um, she took me to see you all again, once more, my reward. I saw you Jo, I looked back on all of you, every single one, and…I was _so_ _proud_."

Jo sniffled, tears in her eyes, "It really _is_ you, isn't it?"

"Hello!" he winked.

~8~

Sarah Jane glanced over at Angel from where she was sitting beside the girl, Angel watching as the Doctor spoke quietly with Jo, "Angel…" she began softly, pulling the Time Lady's attention over to her, "What's going on? What's happened to the Doctor?"

"What do you mean?" Angel asked, though Sarah Jane could see through that.

"You know what I mean. Something happened between the two of you, hasn't it?" she glanced down, seeing the bump of Angel's stomach from her angle and closeness.

She had first noticed when she'd realized Angel wasn't wearing the belt, she'd found herself eyeing the girl trying to work out if it was a 'fashion' choice or something else. But she hadn't seen it, hadn't worked it out, till she'd seen Angel sit, seen the material around her stomach, seen how she was sitting. Angel had her knees up a bit more than was probably comfortable, her feet on her toes to help that, like she was actively trying to block the view of her stomach from the Doctor. But, sitting next to her, she could see the tiny bump and she knew Angel wasn't 'fat' not with how small she was, she knew it was something else, something enormous.

But she didn't want to blatantly bring it up, clearly it was something Angel was trying to hide for some reason. She didn't understand that either, the Doctor LOVED children, if he found out that Angel was pregnant he'd be over the moon! Still, she kept quiet for the moment, that wasn't exactly what she was getting at anyway and perhaps Angel's answer would clear up why she hadn't told him either. If he'd known Angel was pregnant, she doubted the two would have ended up here anyway. She knew exactly how protective the last Doctor had been of his Mate, he never would have risked coming here if he knew she was carrying his child as well...she honestly doubted he'd leave the TARDIS till the baby was born just to be sure it would be safe.

Angel swallowed hard, debating telling Sarah Jane but...something in her told her to do it. Sarah Jane wasn't just a random person, she was the Doctor's companion, she was like...a dear auntie to her in a way, she was wiser and had seen so much and she was so understanding and...she started tearing up, she just needed someone to talk to, a woman, a mother. And while Amy might be the current companion, she didn't want to put all that on Amy after everything the girl had been through with Rory and now celebrating her wedding.

She looked at Sarah Jane to see her eyeing her with such concern...it was so nice to see someone other than Rory worried about her. She nodded to herself, taking a breath, "I'm not sure," she admitted, "I just..." she shook her head, trying to find the words, "The Doctor...he...he doesn't remember Mating with me."

Sarah Jane's eyes widened, "What?"

"He doesn't remember it at all Sarah," she looked at the woman, tears in her eyes as her hand fell to her stomach, rubbing it lightly, "He knows that I'm a Time Lady and that I travelled with him, but…everything about our bond, every little moment we shared that wasn't platonic, everything that led up to it, that made it what it was...it's just…gone…it's all gone..."

"But how?"

Angel could only shrug and sniffle, "I have no idea, one minute he was smiling at me, dancing with me, telling me he loved me...and the next...he was running off and telling people we weren't Mates and...ignoring me," she swallowed once more, "I thought...maybe it was the cracks I told you about," she looked at Sarah Jane again, "That maybe I was erased and _that_ was what was making him forget the Mating. How could we Mate if I'd never been born, but clearly I hadn't been erased yet and was still there so he had to remember me a little..." she looked down, "But now...I'm back, the cracks are closed, and he STILL doesn't remember. Maybe..." she sighed, "Maybe he just...regretted Mating to me and tried to erase as much of it as he could so he wouldn't have to be stuck with me."

Sarah Jane shook her head at that, not just at hearing Angel sound so hopeless and broken and devastated, but...at the very thought of that being what happened. It just couldn't be! She couldn't fathom it. The Doctor she had seen last time had never seemed more in love than with Angel, he couldn't have regretted it, not ever!

"Have you told him?" Sarah Jane asked, "Have you told him that he's forgotten something, maybe..."

"I can't. Sarah he has _no idea_ he's forgotten anything. All those memories, it's like they don't exist in his mind any longer and his mind's already come up with made up memories to fill the gaps. He's got no clue. And," she glanced at the Doctor, "He clearly doesn't want to remember either," she laughed mirthlessly, a sound that seemed so foreign and wrong coming from Angel, "I told him, right to his face, that we were Mated and he just said of course we were friends," she shook her head, "I just…I don't know what to do."

Sarah Jane looked back over at the Doctor as Jo looked surprised at something he'd said, "Will he ever remember?"

"I don't know," Angel admitted in a whisper.

And she really didn't. And the worst thing was...she knew, she could guess, given by the little clues that were dropped, that River Song would just be popping up more and more in their future and...she was terrified that the more River appeared, the closer the Doctor would grow to her. She had promised that she would accept whatever came about in terms of his amnesia, if it meant she could keep the baby, but...she was truly and honestly dreading River being a part of the 'whatever came about.' Of all the people in the Universe that she might lose the Doctor too...she just didn't want it to be River Song.

Sarah Jane could only reach out and take the girl's hand, squeezing it tightly in an offer of strength. She couldn't empathize completely with what Angel was going through, to love someone and have them forget you, to have them be around you every day and look through you. But she could understand what it felt like to lose someone you loved to something else, she had loved Peter so deeply and lost him to the Trickster. And she could understand what it was like to want to do something to save them, to bring them back, but have no idea what to do.

Angel gave her a small smile for her comfort, wiping a tear from her eye before it could fall, there were more important things to deal with at the moment than her despairing romance with the Doctor, "We should probably get back. I told them not to go anywhere, but they're kids, when do they ever listen to adults?"

Sarah Jane sighed, "Knowing them, they've probably already gotten themselves in a mess of trouble," she reached into her pocket and pulled out a whistle, blowing it loudly to get Jo and the Doctor's attention, knowing, from stories and her own experience, that when both got started talking there was little that could stop them except a sudden distraction, "Sorry, but we've got that lot back at home with the Shansheeth."

"Yes, yes," the Doctor agreed, getting up and moving back to the device, "And we still need you Jo. In that bag of yours I can smell black currant, is it buchu oil?"

"Handpicked in Mozambique," Jo got up and dug through her bag, getting the small pouch for him.

"Perfect!" he grinned, opening the top of the device and pouring the oil in, "These circuits need connectivity. Wonderful! Little tiddly drops…that's it! What a team!"

Angel smiled at the women, "Smith and Jones," she laughed, "The perfect pair."

The Doctor tensed as he stood by the device, frowning at that...

~oOo~

_"That's you in a nutshell," Angel laughed, that was exactly like him, but he pouted more, so she reached out and put her arm through his, squeezing it, "Still...my science geeky thief."_

_He beamed at that, "My beautiful ginger psychic," he kissed her temple as Martha smiled at them._

_"I really need to find a man," Martha murmured, before her eyes widened, absolutely NOT having wanted THAT to slip out like that._

_Angel laughed, "Find a Smith," she told her, reaching out to squeeze Martha's hand, not wanting her to feel embarrassed about it, "Trust me, for us Joneses...it's gotta be a Smith," she turned and looked up at him, "I said it once, I'll say it again, Smith and Jones, the perfect pair."_

_He nodded, gazing down at her softly, his arms wrapping around her, "Never argue with a psychic," he said sagely._

_Martha shook her head with a smile, "I'll keep that in mind," she promised._

~oOo~

The Doctor closed his eyes and shook his head, his head starting to hurt a little bit, oh all this space hopping must be doing his head in a little.

~8~

The Groske kicked down another grate into his own room, "Hurry, hurry, hurry! Come on!"

"Hey, nice," Clyde looked around as he hopped in, "You've got a little den. What's all the hurry for?"

"Pizza!" the Groske held out a box he'd grabbed from a table, offering them some.

"What? I though you had a plan!"

"Shansheeth too scary. Me hide."

"No!" Clyde took the box away, "We've gotta do something."

"Yeah…but hiding's not bad," Rani countered, "'Cos we've gotta keep you safe Clyde. 'Cos whatever the Doctor's doing, he needs you for that body switcheroo."

"Oh, great, great," Clyde looked around, "Stuck on Groskeville."

"Pizza good," the Groske pointed at it.

"Do you get to do this all the time?" Santiago hopped into the room as well, a wide grin on his face, "Fight aliens, and chases, and stuff?"

"You can talk Santiago," Clyde argued with a smile, recalling all the places Santiago and Jo had mentioned they'd been through in their time as activists, "You off to Paraguay and Mt. Everest."

"You just zapped into another planet!"

"Yeah," Clyde grinned wider, "That was pretty cool."

"Yeah we've been to parallel times," Rani listed, "Dream dimensions, limbo, and then we go home for tea."

"Yeah, we see all of this and then my mum's like, 'what did you do today?' And I'm like, 'not much.'"

"Yeah, went to the library."

"Played a bit of footy."

"Stayed behind for drama club."

"Oh, and I fought off a platoon of Judoon in my spare time."

"I've not seen my mum for six months now," Santiago remarked sadly after a moment.

"How come?" Rani frowned.

"She's in Japan organizing a rally. I mean, that's great, you know, it's really good work."

"Yeah," Clyde nodded, both he and Rani feeling bad for the boy, the places he went were amazing to hear about, but would probably be more so if he had been able to go there with his parents and his family, his siblings and others, "Of course it is."

"Before that she was in Africa finding shellflower plants. My father's with the gay dad's organization, hiking across Antarctica. We haven't all been together since about…" he frowned, realizing just how long it had been, "February?"

"When are you gonna see them next?" Rani asked.

"Soon. I don't know…soon though."

Suddenly a metal wall fell down in the ventilation shaft, sealing them in.

Clyde and Rani jumped to their feet, "What's that!?" Clyde looked at the Groske, "What's happening?"

"Trapped," it replied with a small shrug.

~8~

"Excellent," Tia grinned, looking at a computer set in a control panel of the Wake Room as the Shansheeth walked around behind her, "We've got the Brady Bunch exactly where we need them. Now…to apply a little heat…" she pushed a few buttons on the computer and turned on the vents.

"Internal vents to maximum," the computer reported.

~8~

The Groske looked at a circular vent on the wall as it turned red, flooding the room with heat and red light, "Heating!" he called, "Hot, hot, hot."

"They're trying to boil us!" Rani exclaimed.

~8~

"And increasing," Tia smiled, turning up the heat even more.

"The children are irrelevant," the Shansheeth came over to her.

"Not to the Doctor and his Mate they're not. Wherever they are, he'll be planning revenge. We need to divert them. Give his Mate a vision to see."

~8~

"It won't budge!" Clyde shoved against the sliding wall, "Come on Groske there's got to be a way out!" he was starting to regret not listening to Angel when she'd said to stay in the other room.

"No," it shook its head, "We die like rotisserie."

"Yeah well, _you_ can," Rani looked at it, "But _I'm_ not. Sarah Jane!" she started banging on the door, "Anyone!"

"Doctor!" Clyde shouted, "Angel! Where are you!?"

~8~

The Doctor popped up from examining the device once more, "There!" he tapped the top, "That should work! Intergalactic molecular streaming with just a hint of black currant."

"Oh, but what'll happen to Clyde?" Sarah Jane frowned.

"Oh, no, no, no. I fixed it. All I needed was you two. Oil and sonic. Now we can go back and Clyde can stay where he is."

"We need to hurry," Angel told him, stiffening, a pit forming in her stomach at the mention of Clyde, thinking of him and the other children, "I think the children might be in trouble."

He nodded, taking Sarah Jane and Jo's hands as Angel held onto Sarah Jane's arm, "Hold tight!" he called and they disappeared.

~8~

"Get us out of here!" Clyde yelled.

"Sarah Jane!" Rani called, "Angel!"

"Doctor!" Santiago shouted.

Angel ran right to the ventilation shaft the moment they appeared, hearing their cries as the Doctor ran over as well, "Whoops!" he remarked, "Then again, maybe leaving Clyde in the same place wasn't such a good idea."

"Look out!" Sarah Jane stepped up, "Stand back!" she flashed the sonic lipstick at the four corners of the grate, breaking it off.

"Ah! Ventilation shaft," he nudged her, "That takes me back…or even forwards."

Angel barely waited till the grate had come off before she quickly made her way in, her hearts racing at hearing the cries and pleas of the children, they were scared! The Doctor rushed to follow her, trusting her to lead them along the maze of vents and straight to the children.

"Hurry up!" they heard Santiago call, "We're getting boiled alive."

"Hold on!"

"We're coming!" Angel added.

"Don't worry Santiago, I'm here!" Jo knelt before the shaft, shouting to her grandson, "You go first, you've got the sonic lipstick…" she turned to Sarah Jane, only to see her being held back by a Shansheeth that had snuck up on them. She slowly stood up, only for another Shansheeth to grab her, "Ah!" she banged on the vent with her foot as she struggled, the Shansheeth pulling her and Sarah Jane away...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I can say...the title for the next story may scare you :( But we'll have to wait to find out what it is }:) I'm sad to see this story end, but I'm really excited for Series 6 and 7 because we'll be seeing more of the companions popping up.
> 
> And speaking of, did you like how Sarah Jane is learning about what happened to Angel and the Doctor? I was really excited for this episode because I feel like, as readers, you were all able to see, just in the first chapter with 11 that something was wrong, that something was off between him and Angel. And I wanted to show that even Sarah Jane, who had only experienced them together a handful of times was able to see it too, to sort of hint at how the other companions would probably pick it up just from being around the Doctor and Angel for only a moment or two, they'd just know :) I really like that about them and about the twist, that it's so profound, the difference between 10 and 11 that the companions would know nearly the minute they see 11 and Angel together that something is wrong :)
> 
> So I hope Sarah Jane's noticing was believable :) I also hope her working out the fact that Angel's pregnant was also realistic. I think, being a mother now, and being a woman, and an investigative journalist, that she'd notice the little things more, like the lack of belt and that would make her look at Angel's stomach, how shaky Angel was from the repeated teleports, the things she was trying to hide from the Doctor, and being so close to Angel she'd be able to see the bump when sitting next to her. All I can say is that Sarah Jane will be making Angel an offer in the next (and last) chapter that Angel might not be able to refuse }:)
> 
> But...I can also say the next chapter will have a very...Thella-ish moment between the Doctor and Angel ;)


	52. Death of the Doctor: The Memory Weave

The Doctor looked back, hearing Jo's cry, "Doctor!" Rani called, "Angel!"

"Jo?" he shouted back, "Sarah?"

"They're roasting us!" Clyde yelled.

"Let us out!" Rani pleaded.

He looked back and forth, caught between going back and forward, when Angel reached out and put a hand on his arm, drawing his attention to her in the rather small area, "They would want us to get the kids," Angel told him gently.

He looked at her, seeing her concern for both the children and his former companions and how difficult this was for her to say. But he had to agree, Sarah Jane and Jo were like him in that, they would always want the children safe first and foremost. He nodded, continuing on after the children, following her down the shaft...his eyes on the ceiling and avoiding looking anywhere he shouldn't...

Which was why he nearly ran into Angel when she stopped short, "Rani?" she called, holding a hand to the metal wall, "Clyde?"

"Angel!" Rani gasped, her voice muffled through the wall.

"We're here," Angel reassured her.

"The Doctor too?" Clyde asked.

"Yes, and me!" he agreed, "We won't be a moment!" he added, smiling at Angel for leading them right there...though it faded quickly, seeing Angel frowning at something, "What is it?" he asked quietly, moving to sit back.

Angel looked at him, turning so she was sitting across from him but still before him, and pointed at the wall of the shaft, "There's a lock," she remarked.

He looked over to see a circular device embedded in the wall, a red light on, clearly locked, and he didn't have the sonic to open it, "And we can't use the Vortex," he realized. Not knowing what sort of lock it was, using the Vortex could mean that it would short circuit and unlock...or it would short circuit and remain closed, trapping the children, which was a chance they couldn't take.

Angel bit her lip and eyed the device, "I can't sense if it would work," she murmured, realizing she hadn't had a vision this entire trip but her sensations were still working right but...she just wasn't getting anything, she wasn't sure and she HAD to be sure before doing something like that. She'd reached the same conclusion as the Doctor had, that it could go either way to use the Vortex energy.

She looked over at the Doctor, "Could you break in?" she asked him, "You're brilliant."

He beamed at that praise, it always meant a lot to him to hear others call him clever or brilliant. Amy HAD been right, he did tend to show off a bit but...it was odd, it was like...he WAS showing off but he hadn't really noticed he was. It was like he was trying to impress someone but everyone who was impressed HE wasn't interested in, not in that way. He didn't understand it, but it just kept happening.

And, to hear _Angel_ say he was brilliant, well that made him feel better than when anyone else called him that. It meant so much more to him for some reason, probably because she was a Time Lady. She was, technically, as brilliant as him, or had the potential to be. Not that he thought she was dim! Not at all! No, she was SO brilliant, so amazing and clever in her own way. But being a Time Lady she was aware of all the other brilliant people in the Universe, among their own people even, to hear HER say he was brilliant, well that meant the world to him.

"I think I can," he nodded, "We need to shift around though," he remarked, moving to try and get in front of Angel so he could be closer to the lock while she moved behind him.

"Right," she smiled, pressing herself into the all as she tried to slide to her left to let him get over her.

Unfortunately for them...the shaft was so small that a person going forward wouldn't have been able to turn around. Which meant, in order to pass each other, there was little space between them. And then the Doctor made the mistake of looking up...and froze.

Angel's face was mere inches away from his as he stopped halfway past her. There really wasn't all that much room to pass as it was and he knew Angel was trying to press herself as far into the wall as possible to give him that room. But it wasn't enough. He could feel her breath on his face, warm and yet refreshing, he felt his own breath catch in his throat, their noses were almost touching, barely brushing against each other, the sensation of it sending his hearts racing, and her eyes...her liquid silver eyes...he could see them clearly even in the dim lighting of the shaft. They were...sparkling, beautiful...and just as wide as his were at his sudden stop.

He didn't know what had made him pause, the children were still in danger, but...he couldn't make himself continue, just...stare at her. He'd been passing her, and he'd looked up and, at first, he'd thought it was just the shock of seeing how close they really were that had made him freeze...but now he didn't know. And now he couldn't move, well, he _could_ if he wanted to.

If he _wanted_ to.

Oddly enough, he found that...he didn't. Not at all. It was horribly uncomfortable, his position, but he hardly noticed as he stared into her grey eyes. They were just lovely, SHE was lovely, and close, close enough to...

He jerked back from where he'd been subconsciously leaning in towards her when Clyde banged on the wall, which made him automatically try to stand and whack his head against the top of the shaft before he fell backwards against it, on his side, now in front of Angel as the girl scrambled back a bit, her cheeks flushed red.

"OI!" Clyde shouted, "What's going on out there?!"

"You said you'd be a moment!" Rani reminded him.

"Is everything ok?" Santiago added.

Angel looked at the Doctor who was staring at her with wide eyes, his own cheeks flushed, and shook her head, "Yes!" she called to the children, "We're fine, the Doctor's um..." she swallowed, shaking her head again, "He's working on the lock."

"Right, yes," the Doctor muttered, pulling his gaze away from Angel as he turned and scrambled to the lock, thankful for the distraction.

What on Earth had _that_ been about?!

...and why did he suddenly feel irritated with Clyde for banging on the wall?

~8~

"Exactly as predicted," Tia remarked as she watched the two dots on the screen reach the four stuck in the boiling room, "Given the choice between saving the world or saving the children. The Doctor and his Mate go the wrong way."

She turned away from the computer as Sarah Jane and Jo were hauled in by the Shansheeth. Jo was thrown into the room, stumbling to look back at Sarah Jane as the woman caught sight of Tia.

"Oh!" Sarah Jane glared, "I didn't trust you, Colonel, from the moment I met you!"

Jo turned around, her mouth dropping open at the sight of the TARDIS behind Tia as she stood at a control panel in the middle of the room, "Like I care," Tia scoffed, "Frankly I've never met anyone so staggeringly pious in all my life. Now then…" she pushed a button and the doors behind them shut and locked, "The chamber's sealed off. The Doctor would need half a ton of dynamite to get through that."

"The TARDIS!" Jo breathed, turning to Sarah Jane, "I never thought I'd see it again."

"That's what this is all about. The TARDIS and _you_. Place them in the Memory Weave!"

The Shansheeth pushed Sarah Jane and Jo forward, shoving them into what looked like examination boards, and strapping them in standing.

~8~

The Doctor frowned in concentration as he worked on getting the small lock on the wall to go from red to green. He rubbed his head a moment before tweaking something, "And…release!" he grinned as the light turned green and the door slid open into the room.

"Blimey!" Clyde stepped up, looking at the Doctor intently, "You really _have_ changed faces haven't you? I couldn't see you before I was too busy swapping..."

"Oi!" Rani cut in, "We're still cooking back here."

"Where's my Gran?" Santiago tried to look behind him.

"Right, yes, sorry, uh," the Doctor said, "She's in danger…so we better…uh," he moved to turn but found it a bit difficult, "Can't turn 'round."

"Shuffle backwards," Angel called from behind him, already working on shuffling backwards. They had barely managed to swap places when they'd reached the door way so she knew, when the time came to head back, they'd need to work out another way to do it besides hopping into the room to turn around and risk that UNIT woman locking them in there too.

"Oh, yes, right, brilliant," he smiled at her over his shoulder and he did just that, shuffling back after Angel as Clyde, Rani, Santiago, and the Groske followed.

"Even your _eyes_ are different!" Clyde eyed him, "It's weird cause I thought the eyes would stay the same…can you change color or are you always white?"

"No, I can be anything."

"And is there a limit? I mean, how many times can you change?"

"507."

Angel shook her head at that as Clyde nodded, "Oh…"

"12 times Clyde," Angel corrected, knowing the Doctor was just saying that jokingly to try and put Clyde off questioning them. She rather liked when people asked questions, she knew she asked more than enough of them, and it was always wonderful when children asked questions because it meant they wanted to know more about the topic. And regeneration was one thing she actually knew answers too, like questions about the TARDIS, oh she could talk about that old box for ages!

"So...that means there'll be 13 different yous in the end?" Rani worked it out.

"12 regenerations, 13 incarnations," Angel nodded, glancing over her shoulder to make sure they were still going the right way.

"That's so cool," Santiago murmured, Clyde and Rani nodding in agreement.

~8~

"Hang on then, tell us," Sarah Jane looked at Tia as a metal band was placed around her head, "What exactly does the Memory Weave do?"

"'Cos I warn you darling, the memory's going at my age," Jo glared, trying to shake her head as another metal band was placed on her head as well.

"You need remember only one thing," the head Shansheeth replied.

"And what's that?" Sarah Jane frowned.

"The TARDIS key."

"The Weave takes the memory out of your head," Tia checked Sarah Jane's restraints, perhaps adding a bit more force to them, tightening them just a little more than necessary, "And makes it real. This device can build a physical key out of your thoughts."

"And then we will have access to the TARDIS!" the Shansheeth turned to look at the box, touching it longingly, "The most miraculous machine in creation will be ours."

"No…" Sarah Jane gasped.

~8~

Rani and Santiago helped the Groske out of the vent when the Doctor heard the machine starting up, "It's started!" he breathed.

"This way!" Angel shouted, rushing down the hall, the others following her lead.

~8~

"No!" Jo yelled, "You can't!" but Tia just ignored her, tightening her restraints as well, as tight as Sarah Jane's, "Ow!"

"We have seen _so much_ of death," the head Shansheeth lamented, "The Shansheeth have presided over infinite funerals. We see the pain and the suffering again and again and again but with the TARDIS we can stop this. We can intervene, to prevent the loss of life on the universal scale."

"You want to stop death?" Sarah Jane frowned.

"It is a _noble_ quest. To halt the endless, endless weeping."

"And change the whole of history! That's why creatures like you can't have time machines 'cos you'll wreck the entire Universe! Everything, all things, must die," Sarah Jane added, repeating the wise words of a dear friend.

"What did I say?" Tia sighed, "Pious."

"Oh yeah?" Sarah Jane glared, "Well I'd rather be pious than vile! What do _you_ get out of this plan?"

"A bigger horizon Miss Smith. The Shansheeth can take me to the stars because there is _nothing_ left for me here on Earth," Sarah Jane eyed her as Tia's expression grew more forlorn and...sad, "Not anymore," she said in a whisper, before shaking her head and spinning back to the aliens, "Accelerate the Weave!"

The Shansheeth hit a button and Sarah Jane and Jo cried out in pain...

~8~

Angel ran down the hallway, right to the door where the women were screaming, "They're in here!"

The Doctor ran past her and pulled on the handles only to find it locked, "Oh they've sealed it off!" he banged on it, "Jo, Sarah can you hear me?"

~8~

"They want the key!" Sarah Jane shouted, hearing him, "They've got the TARDIS and a Memory Weave!"

"Too late," Tia spat, "Full activation!"

"Concentrate think of the key," the Shansheeth commanded.

~8~

The Doctor looked around, "Try and find a way in!"

They all turned to do as he said but there was little to look at, it was just a hallway, barely a fire extinguisher in sight, "There's nothing!" Santiago replied, "We're gonna need a bulldozer!"

"I've got the original here you can have it if let them go!" the Doctor shouted through the door.

~8~

"You let the Doctor inside this room and he will destroy us," Tia told the Shansheeth, "We got his companions, even the Angel would want to stop us! Keep going!"

"Think of the TARDIS," the Shansheeth repeated. Sarah Jane and Jo struggled but they found themselves thinking about the TARDIS, about their times in it with their Doctors, "The key, remember the key!"

"Fight it Sarah Jane!" Jo shouted, "Try to think of something else."

"I can't!" she yelled.

"Neither can I!"

~8~

"It's not shifting!" Clyde called as he tried to batter down the door with the fire extinguisher.

~8~

"The memories coalesce!" the Shansheeth cried joyfully as an orange light shot out of Sarah Jane and Jo's foreheads, meeting in the middle of the room and forming a small ball of light, the key forming, transparent, in the middle, "The key! It takes shape!"

"Don't!" Jo struggled, "Don't!

"I can't stop!" Sarah Jane breathed.

~8~

"What do we do Doctor?" Clyde looked at him, "What do we do?"

"Yes…" the Doctor realized something, "Because…the Shansheeth are _making_ them remember."

"I know!"

Angel blinked, "Oh my God!" she started to laugh, seeing the plan in his head though she knew he would think she was just working it out herself, "That's brilliant!"

"We do the same," he explained to the children as he turned and tapped in a code on a panel, "Opening comms.. Yes! Sarah, Jo, can you hear me?"

~8~

"The key!" Sarah Jane gasped, staring in horror as she watched it grow more solid, "It's almost ready!"

"Listen to me both of you," he told them, "I _want_ you to remember."

"We _are_ doing it," Jo reminded him, "That's the trouble."

"No, no, no, I want you to remember _everything_. Every single day with me. Every single second."

"What's he doing?" Tia's eyes widened.

"Because your memories are more powerful than anything else on this planet. So think of them Sarah, remember them Jo. But properly, _properly_. Give the Memory Weave everything. Every planet, every face, every madman, every loss, every sunset, every scent, every terror, every joy, every Doctor. Every me."

"I remember," Sarah Jane smiled as she thought back to her adventures with the Doctor both old and new, discovering the War, meeting Angel, saving the world with her as well.

"No!" Tia cried, seeing the levels rising on the control panel.

"Memory Weave overloading," the computer stated.

"I remember!" Jo laughed, replaying her own times with the Doctor in her mind as well, oh what wonderful times they were.

"We _need_ that key!" Tia glared, "What is happening?" the key started to fade, "What is happening?"

"Initial target lost," the computer announced.

"The device is overloading," the Shansheeth replied, he and two others rushing to the controls, trying to shut it down, "Too many memories. Too many!"

"Reverse it!" Tia glared, "Bring that key back!"

~8~

Angel turned to the kids, "Rani, Clyde, Santiago, help them! It's not just about the Doctor, think of all the adventures _you've_ had with them too!"

Clyde rushed to the door, "Think of us Sarah Jane! Remember Maria and her dad. And all the stuff we did. Like the gorgon."

"And the clown!" Rani called, "And the zodiac. And the Mona Lisa!"

~8~

"All of it!" Sarah Jane grinned, remembering her adventures with the children, "All of it!"

"Just think Gran!" Santiago yelled, "All the countries you've been to!"

"Every country in the world," Jo beamed, imagining them all, all their beauty, all the things she'd accomplished in them.

Sparks started to shoot from the Weave, "Weave starting self-destruct."

Sarah Jane's restraints opened, releasing her, "We've broke a circuit!"

"I can't get out!" Jo struggled, her own restraints only partially free. Sarah Jane shoved her way out off her harness and ran over to the woman.

"I've got you!" she tugged on Jo's straps, undoing them.

~8~

"Now we're in trouble," the Doctor backed away from the door, "The Weave's going to blow up…and we can't get them out."

"What?" Rani's gaped, spinning around to face him, that was NOT good at all!

~8~

"You can't escape!" the head Shansheeth cried, "We need the key!"

"Weave now entering detonation phase," the computer warned.

"I can't unseal the door!" Tia called from the computer, "The power line's gone!"

Sarah Jane and Jo ran over to the door, Sarah Jane whipping out the sonic lipstick and trying it...only to find it was dead, "We've drained it…" she banged on the door, "Doctor! Angel! We can't get out!"

~8~

"I can't open it," the Doctor murmured through the door, resting his head against it in sorrow.

"No sonic screwdriver," Sarah Jane realized.

"It's inside the TARDIS."

"And we can't get in 'cos, guess what? We stopped ourselves from getting the key…oh that was clever…"

Angel stepped back from the door, shaking her head as she looked down, feeling tears in her eyes. She didn't want them to die, they didn't deserve that. Those two brilliant women…

The Doctor flinched, hearing the sound of the technology and controls exploding within, "I just want to say," Jo called, "I'm _so_ glad I saw you again. I waited all this time and it was worth it. Every second."

"Doctor, Angel, all of you," Sarah Jane began, and Angel's hearts broke hearing the tears in the woman's voice, "You'll look after Luke for me please?"

And then she decided.

Sarah Jane and Jo would _not_ be dying today, not if she had anything to say about it.

But what could she do? How could she help? She wasn't the Doctor, she wasn't clever and good with locks and science and math and so many other things that could undoubtedly save the two women but...

She looked up, her eyes wide, she _could_ do something else...she wasn't clever no, but she was psychic, she had the Vortex in her! Her mind started to race as she thought back to how she had teleported in, using the device to help…but...it hurt, yes, so that had to mean she had used something of the Vortex to do it! She knew she wasn't ready to teleport like that, across ten thousand light years or anything. She had the potential to wield such power, but it would take time to build up her strength and endurance to the point where she could access the Vortex's whole power without being forced to regenerate…it took time, energy and practice…but she wasn't looking at teleporting that far...she just had to make it to the other side of a door!

And she knew, she could do it. And even if she couldn't, she had to TRY. She had to try her hardest because she NEEDED to do it, for them.

She closed her eyes tight and focused as hard as she could, feeling the power of the Vortex rushing inside her and pulled it to the surface.

Rani gasped, looking at her, having seen a flash of gold out of the corner of her eye. Her gasp drew all their attention as they turned to see Angel encased in a swirl of golden energy before disappearing from view.

"Angel!" the Doctor shouted, his hearts nearly leaping out of him in fright at what had happened. The last times she had teleported like that...it hadn't been good, it hadn't ended well for her and he was terrified of what had happened, of where she had gone...and then he noticed, then he saw...there was a golden light coming from under the door to the locked room and he realized exactly what Angel was doing. He spun to the Groske, "How much time have they got?!"

"Big bang?" the little alien shrugged, "10 seconds?"

The Doctor turned and grabbed the kids, pulling them away from the door...

~8~

Sarah Jane and Jo spun around, seeing a gold light appear behind them, squinting against it as it grew brighter and brighter...until Angel appeared in the middle of it, the energy of the Vortex swirling around her...before it disappeared abruptly.

Angel stumbled forward, nearly falling to her knees had the two women not leapt forward and grabbed her arms, steadying her. She used that opportunity to grab onto them, to keep them close, clutching their hands and not letting them go, "Hold on tight," she warned them, squeezing their hands and closing her eyes once more, sucking in a gasp of air as she focused once more despite how terribly she was shaking.

She knew she wouldn't be able to teleport them all out of there, she'd _barely_ made it in by herself. Her head was pounding, her vision was blurring, she could barely keep herself standing, and she was panting, but she HAD to do something! She had to, she'd come this far, she couldn't let the women be harmed now...

Moments later...there was a massive explosion…

~8~

The doors to the room were blown off their hinges and into the hallway, fire shooting out after it, the Groske having dashed away only moments before it happened. The Doctor peeked around the corner, eyeing the debris a moment before it hit him what had just happened. He leapt up and ran for the room, the children following...only to stop short at the sight beyond.

Angel was standing between the women, gripping their hands so tightly they could see her knuckles turning white, her eyes scrunched tight in concentration, a pained expression on her face, as a wall of gold shimmered around the three of them, crackling with energy. The Doctor quickly walked over to it, eyeing what looked like a sphere encasing them for only a moment, before he reached out and pressed a hand against the wall.

"Angel," he whispered, frowning as he saw her shaking within the sphere, "You can let go now."

Angel opened her eyes with a gasp, this time unable to support herself, even with the help of Sarah Jane and Jo, and slumped to the floor, taking the women with her, both of whom were completely stunned at what had just happened. They landed in a huff, the women exchanging a look before bursting out with joyful laughter, hugging Angel between them, the Time Lady seeming just as surprised as them that they had actually made it.

She let out a breath though and closed her eyes, feeling tears within them, it had worked, they were ok, ALL of them were ok, all four of them. She smiled, laughing as Sarah Jane and Jo smushed her between them in a large bear hug she was all too happy to return in earnest, not even seeing the Doctor watching on with a fond, awed smile.

~8~

"Attention!" Mr. Smith called as he opened himself up from the false fireplace of Sarah Jane's attic at the sound of the TARDIS wheezing, "Temporal Flux escalating in this vicinity," the TARDIS materialized, "The TARDIS has landed."

The doors opened and Clyde stepped out with his overnight bag in his hand, "Whoa!" he stopped short, "It's Bannerman Road! It's like everything moved. I'll never get used to that…" he wandered off as Rani stepped through with Santiago.

"Mr. Smith!" she walked over to it, "You're in big trouble. Those Shansheeth were bad!"

Mr. Smith had scanned the 'eulogy' that the Shansheeth had prepared as invitation to the Doctor's funeral, had given them a short history of the alien species earlier. According to him, the Shansheeth were being truthful and implied they had no reason to doubt the message that was being given about the death of the Doctor and Angel.

"It transpires, Rani, that you encountered a rogue element," it replied as Santiago stopped and stared at it, "And the Wide Wing of the High Shansheeth Nest sends apologies."

Santiago laughed, "No way! On top of everything else you've got a talking computer!? That is it. I'm giving up."

~8~

Angel smiled, absently flicking some controls, as Jo strolled around the console, "Still the same old TARDIS," Jo said with a wide grin, "Doesn't matter what's changed. Still smells the same…" she took a deep breath, "Nope. Gotta say goodbye or else I'd stay with you forever. Besides I probably couldn't keep up anymore. Get you into trouble with the Time Lords."

The Doctor looked down a bit at that, knowing that it wasn't Jo's fault for bringing them up, she didn't know about the War, before clearing his throat, "Yeah, Angel and I had probably better go…you know me, stuff to do."

"It's daft though because we were both saying," Sarah Jane looked at him, "We had this theory that if, you ever died, we'd _feel_ it somehow, we'd just know. That's silly isn't it?"

"I don't know. Maybe not, 'cos between you and me, if that day ever comes I think the whole Universe might just shiver," he paused a moment, looking at them, "Boo!"

Sarah Jane and Jo jumped before laughing. Jo walked over to him and gave him a big hug while Sarah Jane made her way around the console to Angel, "I'm going to tell you what I told Rose," she said to Angel quietly, "Find me..." she pulled her into a tight hug, "If you need to, one day. You can come to me," she pulled away a bit, "Both of you," her gaze flickered down to Angel's stomach.

"Thank you Sarah Jane," she whispered, hugging her once more before letting her go to hug the Doctor as she gave Jo a small hug as well.

She loved that about Sarah Jane. That woman was just...so understanding and so...intuitive herself. She had noticed the difference between her and the Doctor, had noticed her bump, and hadn't said a word of it to the Doctor. She knew Sarah Jane as taking everything into consideration and not rushing in or overreacting. It was one reason she had ultimately decided to tell Sarah Jane, if she had told Jack or anyone else everything that happened...he'd go after the Doctor. They'd hit him or punch him or try to kill him and she didn't want that, not at all. She didn't even know, for sure, what had happened, whether it was his fault or not and she didn't want him to get hurt if it had been something else...like River.

She doubted even Martha or Donna would react well or calmly to it, Donna, she knew, would slap the Doctor ten ways from Sunday for what he'd done to her 'sister.' Sarah Jane though, she was calm, she had so much more experience in dealing with aliens and strange occurences. She was cautious and thought things out, she gathered every bit of evidence she could before coming to a conclusion or taking action. She was SUCH a journalist!

She knew that Sarah Jane would wait till everything had been discovered and worked out. She knew how tricky memory could be, how detrimental the wrong word or the wrong suggestion could be at the wrong time. Trying to force someone with amnesia to remember could be devastating to them and she understood that. She also understood how hard it was for HER to deal with, how she was keeping the baby from the Doctor for a reason, even if Sarah Jane didn't know what that reason was. She trusted her, and she understood, and she also realized...

It wasn't any of her business.

Not to sound mean, but Sarah Jane understood that it was her life, her baby, her Mate, and her decision about what to do. She would want to help, _of course she would_! But she knew there was a reason behind her holding off on speaking to the Doctor about it. Namely it was her promise to the Universe, she'd give him up if she could keep the baby. To her, that meant...do nothing. That meant let it happen if it happened and if not, accept it. If he remembered that would be the most wonderful gift ever, but...the baby had to be her main concern at the moment. And even not knowing of her promise to the Universe, Sarah Jane had grasped that there WAS a reason behind her actions around the Doctor and her decisions regarding him.

Sarah Jane had done what she truly needed, offered her help if she should want it. And that meant so much to her to have. Not someone insisting she do one thing or another. Not someone taking it upon themselves to do something for her. But just someone who could see that, for now, she was doing ok and that she was trying her best to work it out herself and get the whole story first. And someone who was offering her support when the time came that she couldn't continue how she was or it got to be too painful.

Sarah Jane was truly remarkable.

~8~

"Oh, but you should see Japan," Santiago was saying to Rani and Clyde, "It's like 80 percent forest. It goes on for as far as the eye can see. It's _endless_. And..."

He cut off when they heard the TARDIS doors open and turned to see Sarah Jane and Jo step out, Jo closing the doors behind her before she ran over to Sarah Jane's side, all of them watching as the TARDIS disappeared with a wheeze.

~8~

Santiago stood at the end of Sarah Jane's drive, looking down at the perfectly normal suburban street, "It's exactly like you said," he looked back at Rani, "You live over there and you're…"

"Just down there on the left," Clyde nodded as Santiago walked back over to where they were standing by a car.

"You save the world and you just come home."

"Thing is, maybe _you_ could do with a bit of that," Rani remarked, "See, we're fighting the Slitheen and the Trickster and you're fighting oil barons and factories. But at the end of the day, who is waiting for you?"

"I think you should start another protest mate," Clyde agreed, "Except this time at your mum and dad. Or they might find that relations with Santiago get decidedly chilly," Rani laughed as Santiago shook his head, "Let's pretend I never said that."

"That was horrific."

"I'm ashamed of myself."

"You're right though," Santiago looked at them, "Yeah. I think it's time we made some changes."

They looked over at the sound of Jo and Sarah Jane laughing as they walked over, "Oh you," Jo looked at Clyde, "Oh you!" she hugged him, "You're _so_ beautiful!" and gave him a kiss on each cheek, "And so gorgeous," she looked over at Rani, "And you!" she walked over to her, "You're _so_ willowy!" she cupped the girl's face, "Yes you are. Do you know? You are sensational!" and she pulled her into a hug as well, "And you!" she looked at Santiago, "You are _so_ handsome!" she ruffled his hair, "And we are so _late_. Come on, we're off to Norway by hover craft. Should be fun."

"Easier said than done," Santiago remarked.

"Bye everyone," Jo smiled and looked at Sarah jane, "Oh Sarah Jane," she walked over and hugged the woman tightly, "Find yourself a fella."

"Oh…" Sarah Jane nodded and stepped back with an amused smile.

"Hang on, wait a minute guys, where did I leave my glasses?" Jo looked around, trying to spot them...only to see everyone gesturing to her head, "What?" she put her hand on her head to feel them resting atop her hair and burst out laughing, "Oh, head! Naturally!" she turned and got into the car, "Bye!"

"Bye," Sarah Jane waved.

"See you later," Rani added. They waved as Santiago got in as well and turned to walk back to lean on Sarah Jane's car, watching them leave, "Do you think there's lots of Jo Grants out there? You know like, the Doctor's old companions."

"I do a little search sometimes…" Sarah Jane admitted.

"What?" Clyde eyed her, "Do you Google TARDIS?"

"Oh it works. I mean, well, I can't be sure but…there's a woman called Tegan in Australia fighting for aboriginal rights. There's uh, Ben and Polly in India running an orphanage there. Oh, there was Harry, oh I loved Harry. He was a doctor, he did _such_ good work with vaccines. He saved _thousands_ of lives. Oh, and there's a Dorothy something…she runs that company 'A Charitable Earth,' she's raised _billions_. And this couple in Cambridge…both professors, Ian and Barbara Chesterton. Rumor has it they've never aged, not since the sixties," she shrugged playfully, "I wonder," she laughed and turned to wave at Jo and Santiago as the car pulled away.

"That'll be us one day," Clyde remarked.

"Still out there," Rani agreed, "Fighting."

"Echoes of the Doctor," Sarah Jane smiled, "All over the world. With friends like us, and Angel watching out for him, he's never going to die is he?"

They smiled and waved as Jo and Santiago drove off around the corner.

"Now, come on you two," Sarah Jane put her hands on their shoulders, leading them back to the house, "I have some research to do."

"About what?" Rani asked, always excited to help.

"Memory loss," Sarah Jane said, her smile fading.

She hadn't had a clue what she could do or say to help Angel. If it really was as the girl said, and she had no reason to doubt Angel given the Time Lady had a direct connection to the Doctor's mind, and the Doctor's memories really were just...gone...then she doubted anything she could say to him would have helped bring them back. And it hurt, terribly, to see the sad look in Angel's eyes, to see how much she had changed from that confident woman she'd regenerated into. She hadn't seen Angel often since the Earth had been stolen, but she remembered Angel when she'd regenerated, she'd been so confident and strong, she'd seen it in just those few moments with her and then when she'd seen her after her almost-wedding, and just looking at her now she'd KNOWN that wasn't the same Angel, that something had just...worn her down, chipped away at her. And she'd wanted to help, so badly, but she didn't know how. So she'd promised, she'd sworn to herself, she'd find a way to help. She'd do all she could to learn about memory loss so that the next time she saw the Doctor, she could try to help bring them back.

It was the least she could do for Angel.

Though...she was sure she should keep exactly what she'd learned to herself for now, if she told Jack about what happened...well, all the hope she'd felt at the Doctor never dying would be dashed, because Jack would find a way to kill him permanently.

~8~

Angel frowned in her sleep, a fine layer of sweat on her brow, her face scrunched in pain as she tossed and turned, a nightmare plaguing her, more like a series of nightmares…

'… _human beings…I thought I'd never get done saving you_ …'

… _the Doctor stood before an astronaut, his head bowed as the astronaut raised its arm and fired at him twice_ …

'… _I'm sorry_ …'

… _the Doctor threw his hands out, regenerating, just as the astronaut fired again_ …

'… _NO!…_ '

… _the orange swirl immediately faded and the Doctor fell to the ground, unmoving_ …

"No..." she murmured, panting...

'… _who and what are you?…_ '

 _…the wounded, pale, thin alien with no mouth, wearing a black suit, looked up_ …

'… _Silence Doctor. We are the Silence. And Silence will fall!…_ '

She winced, her head twitching to the side...

… _the Doctor stood before the scanner, running a pregnancy test on Amy that flashed positive/negative_ …

'… _you can't tell him. It's his future_ …'

She fisted her sheets, shaking...

… _Amy stood before the Doctor as Rory slowly backed away from her_ …

'… _no you're not, you haven't been here for a long, long time_ …'

… _the Doctor stood before Amy, holding the sonic out at her before activating it, a white pile of goop falling to the floor in her place_ …

She twitched, tears falling from her closed eyes...

'… _the child…is not a weapon!_ …'

… _a severe woman with a metal eye patch smirked_ …

'… _she will be_ …'

… _Amy sat hidden behind a crate in the dark of a factory warehouse, holding a baby to her, protecting it when it suddenly turned to white goop in her arms_ …

'… _Rory,"_ _Amy breathed, trembling as she stared at the empty cloth in her hands, screaming heartbrokenly, "RORY!…_ '

Angel woke with a gasp, flying up in her bed, her hearts racing, her head pounding. She put a hand on her stomach and one on her head, wincing as the dream replayed itself over and over, leaving her trembling and panting for breath. It had been a scattering of images and words…but with it came a sense of dread…this was by far the most violent, disjointed dream she'd had of the future. But…most of the dreams she'd had of it, she'd been able to change. And she knew…

She was _not_ going to let the Doctor die.

She was _not_ going to let Amy or Rory lose their child.

No matter what, she would change it, she would save them…she _had_ to.

To be continued...in...A Fallen Angel!

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh. Dear. God. The Doctor still hasn't remembered! But did you like that little scene in the vents? ;) I think he almost kissed her! ^-^ Clyde has the worst timing doesn't he? :)
> 
> I have to wonder though...what will happen next? I'm buzzing to show you :) And we'll find out in one week }:)
> 
> As for this chapter though, I know a few of you wanted Sarah Jane to say something to the Doctor, I did too, but as I was writing her she just kept holding back from doing that. And I think her thoughts at the end sort of explain that, she really didn't know what to say. It must have been a shock to find out he'd forgotten someone as important as Angel and to find out the memories are literally missing, well, what could she say to help bring back the memories? And she also struck me as the sort to try and get the whole story first and go from there so she needed to do a bit of research too :) But she offered Angel a place to stay/go! Awww :) I think it's sort of good that, for now, Angel hasn't taken her up on it, we sort of need Angel there in TIA/DOTM because Rory needs to see first hand and for a full adventure how River treats Angel so he can speak to her about that ;)
> 
> I also added in the part that talks about the 507 vs. the 12 regenerations thing. Mostly because I've been asked about it a few times in the past, answering with how RTD intended for it to be a joking remark and how he had to publicly tell people it was a joke to shut Clyde up and NOT literal because of the reaction to it. So I thought I could put it in the actual chapter this time to sort of clear that up :)
> 
> And I just want to finish this note off with...thank you. Thank you all SO MUCH! To everyone who has ever read/reviewed/favorited/followed/anything this story, you have no idea how much it means to me to know you're enjoying the story. You guys are the reason I write and keep writing and without you the story wouldn't be where it is. So I just want to say thank you, I love you all so much!


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